Many Ghanaians, including Members of Parliament on the Majority side, were disappointed by the Speaker of Parliament’s decision to leave their colleague’s fate up in the air.
Majority MPs, led by Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, had asked for Sarah Adwoa Safo’s seat as MP for Dome Kwabenya to be declared vacant after she didn’t show up to parliament sessions.
The Speaker of Parliament was supposed to give his decision on the matter at the last meeting of parliament in July 2022, but he canceled it and said he would give his decision on Wednesday, October 26, 2022.
But when Alban Bagbin did, he ruled that the report of the committee set up to look into the case of the MP and two other people who missed a number of sittings should be shown to the whole house so that it can be discussed.
So, he didn’t agree with the majority leader that the committee report shouldn’t be brought up for discussion in the house.
“As I pointed out in this ruling, the Speaker is the only person who can decide not to accept a motion. Given all of this, the House is well within its rights to get reports from the committee, think about them, and make a decision based on what they say.
“Under the circumstances, I’ve decided that the motion was rightly accepted, and the committee’s report is up for discussion in the house. “It goes without saying that the Majority Leader’s objection today is thrown out,” he said to end his decision.
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You may remember that on July 29, 2022, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo fired Dome Kwabenya as Minister of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, a day after parliament put off making its first decision about what to do with her.
In a statement, the president said the MP’s position as a minister would be taken away right away.
“According to article 81(a) of the Constitution, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has immediately removed Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo from her position as Minister for Gender, Children, and Social Protection.
“Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, will continue to serve as caretaker Minister for the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection until President Akufo-Addo appoints a substantive Minister,” said the last part of the statement from the Presidency.
Sarah Adwoa Safo has been living in the U.S. since 2021.