We Erred In Passing Companies Act – MPs

Members of Parliament have admitted to erring in the passage of the Companies Act 2019, which bars a person charged with a criminal offense from becoming a director of a company.

It will be recalled that the Supreme Court on November 8 declared the Companies Act 2019 unconstitutional as it contravenes Article 19(2)(c) of the 1992 Constitution, which protects the right of a person accused of a crime to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, first admitted to the error committed in the subsection of the Act and called on the Attorney General to bring an amendment to Parliament for deliberation and approval.

“In the company’s code we passed, we said that if a person is charged with an offense, that person does not qualify to be a director. We erred and we should eat our humble pie, and by this, invite the learned Attorney General to come urgently to this House with proposed amendments to the company’s code so that we right those wrong”.

The request for the amendment of the Act was seconded by the MP for Dome-Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, who lauded the apex court for its swift action in calling for the rectification of some portions of the Companies Act 2019.

“I don’t want to over-buttress the point that indeed the Supreme Court has done a great job, and the Attorney General, I am sure, has heard the ruling of the Supreme Court and will do the needful and bring a proposed bill only to amend that portion of the company’s code”.