Speaker praises Parliament for unity amid partisan differences

• Posted on August 5, 2025August 5, 2025
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The Ninth Parliament has wrapped up its second meeting of the first session, with reflections on both accomplishments and challenges.

Addressing MPs in a closing statement delivered on his behalf by First Deputy Speaker Bernard Ahiafor, Speaker Alban Bagbin commended members for their display of bipartisanship, describing it as a rare demonstration of national unity in service of the public good.

“This meeting has demonstrated what is possible when we work together, transcending partisan interests to serve a better good,” Bagbin said, urging lawmakers to continue fostering consensus and cooperation.

Over the course of 43 sittings from May to August 2025, Parliament passed eight out of 13 bills, including the Ghana Medical Trust Fund Bill and the University for Development Studies Bill. Additionally, 497 questions were filed, with 297 answered—signalling active legislative oversight.

The House also approved seven Supreme Court justices and four deputy ministers, ratified international agreements, and adopted key reports, such as timber utilisation contracts and Auditor-General’s reports.

But the session was not without turbulence. The Speaker noted the death of Akwatia MP Ernest Kumi and violent clashes during the Ablekuma North rerun elections as pressing concerns. He called for reforms, including better healthcare for MPs and stronger electoral safeguards.

As the House adjourned, Bagbin reminded members that recess was no break. “It is a return to your constituents,” he said, urging MPs to reconnect with the people and pursue democratic development at the grassroots.

In his remarks, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga highlighted efforts to combat illegal mining, reporting over 1,300 arrests, 425 seized excavators, and monitoring systems to control equipment imports. He dismissed criticisms of state agencies investigating political figures, describing such attacks as hypocritical.

“I think that it is a height of hypocrisy…when they are exercising their responsibilities and their mandates, we sit in this House and criticise them,” Ayariga said.

But Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin struck a different tone, warning of creeping authoritarianism and political persecution under the current government. Calling for an end to “bitterness, revenge and pain,” he stressed the need for healing and unity.