NPP Majority Petitions Speaker to Reconvene Parliament for Urgent Government Business.

Accra: The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Majority has formally petitioned the Speaker of Parliament, seeking to recall the legislative body to address critical Government Business from November 28th to 29th. This request comes in the wake of the Sixth Meeting of the Fourth Session of Parliament, which adjourned on November 7th without addressing any Government Business.According to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, the Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business in Parliament, highlighted the urgency of recalled sessions in a memo addressed to the Speaker of Parliament. He stated that prior to the adjournment, several urgent Government Business items were scheduled for consideration, including tax exemptions under the One District, One Factory Programme, the Ghana Financial Stability Fund, a $250 million International Development Association facility, and the President's nominations for Supreme Court Justices.Additionally, the Government Business includes the ratifica tion of two mining lease agreements: one between the Government of Ghana and the Ashanti Bauxite Company Limited for bauxite mining in the Nyinahini Block 2 Area, and another between the Government and Barari DV Ghana Limited for lithium exploitation at Ewoyaa in the Central Region.Mr. Afenyo-Markin also outlined a series of bills awaiting deliberation, such as the Environmental Protection Agency Bill, 2024, the Social Protection Bill, 2023, and the Budget Bill, 2023, among others. He emphasized that reconvening Parliament would underscore national unity and institutional stability, particularly as the nation approaches a critical electoral period.He urged the Speaker to utilize Orders 57(3) and 58(4) to facilitate the recall, arguing that these provisions allow for an emergency summoning of Parliament without the standard fourteen-day notice. The proposed dates for the emergency recall are November 28th and 29th, 2024. Mr. Afenyo-Markin expressed his belief that this action would enable Parliament to ful fill its constitutional responsibilities and serve the national interest effectively, rising above partisan considerations.