Joe Wise Rejects Minority’s Motion For Probe Into Covid-19 Expenditure

Joe Wise Rejects Minority’s MotionThe Minority’s resolution for a comprehensive probe into the use of Covid-19 funding was rejected by the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu.

Cassiel Ato Forson, the Ranking Member for the Finance Committee, proposed that the house form a bipartisan Parliamentary Committee, chaired by a member of the Minority Caucus.

The Committee would be entrusted with investigating the Ghanaian government’s expenditures on Covid-19 since the pandemic’s onset in 2020.

Dr. Ato Forson, who proposed the motion, said that the government has been inconsistent in accounting for Covid-19 funding.

Muntaka Mubarak, the Minority Chief Whip, seconded the motion, pointing out that the administration purposefully spread information about Covid-19 expenditure in the 2022 budget to avoid accountability.

However, Deputy Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin submitted a preliminary objection, claiming that the measure would amount to parliament usurping the Auditor-responsibilities, General’s as the constitution requires.

He accused the NDC MPs of attempting to perplex Ghanaians by painting the administration in a negative light. As a result, the Effutu MP requested that the motion be thrown out by the first Deputy Speaker.

Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader, refuted the Deputy Majority Leader’s claim, claiming that what the NDC MPs want is an inquiry, not an audit.
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader, has also spoken out against any investigation into the use of Covid-19 funding.

As a result, first Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei-Owusu threw out the motion, claiming that the motion’s demands lay squarely within the purview of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). He stated that Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin should not have approved the proposal.

Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, speaking to the media following the proceedings, expressed disappointment in the First Deputy Speaker, claiming that the topic would be addressed soon.

Deputy Majority Leader, in a stinging response, maintained that the Deputy Speaker’s decision was appropriate.

Source: Opemsuo.com/ Emmanuel Owusu Anti