Minority abstains from SoNA debate

The Minority in Parliament has abstained from debating The State of the Nation Address (SoNA), which began on Tuesday.

Even though some Minority legislators were present in Parliament, they refused to contribute to discussions relating to the President’s account of the state of the nation last Thursday.

SONA 2020: Minority walkout on President Akufo-Addo’s address

 

The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, moved the motion for the discussion on the SoNA. After speaking for about 10 minutes, it was the turn of the Minority to make an input, but no one rose to speak.

When the Speaker of Parliament, Aaron Mike Oquaye, enquired about the silence by the NDC legislators, the Minority Chief Whip, Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak, told Parliament, “Our position is that we are not participating in this, so we will not contribute”.

So, all the opposition MPs remained mute.

SONA 2020 boycott: Common fund excuse was a trick – Minority

With the opposition MPs quiet, Mr Oppong Nkrumah highlighted the government’s interventions in the energy sector.

When the chairman of the Finance Committee in Parliament, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah, took his turn, he was emphatic that the government would not repeat the status quo of exceeding fiscal deficits in election years in 2020. He stressed that there would be “no reckless spending” as the election approached.

Last Thursday, opposition MPs made true an earlier warning that they would boycott the President’s State of the Nation Address.

Dressed in black attire, the Minority walkout during President Akufo-Addo’s presentation, citing the failure of the government to address key issues including the compilation of a new voter roll.

Boycotting SoNA because of common fund “juvenile” – Dep. Chief Whip tells minority

The opposition MPs also left behind lots of placards with various inscriptions to drum home their concerns.

Among the placards, some read; “Free and fair elections non-negotiable,” “Why a new voter’s register”.

Desperate times call for desperate measures – Minority justifies their SONA walk-out

Members of the public flooded popular social media platforms with reactions that condemned the act.

Some Majority MPs served notice that they would prevent their peers on the other side from taking in the debate on the SONA. The Minority MPs were indifferent in their response.

On Saturday, the Minister of Information had indicated that the leadership of the House had reached some consensus for the Minority to take part in the debate.

State of the Nation debate: Majority will show maturity – Oppong Nkrumah