The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority in Parliament staged a walkout on Wednesday, July 15, in protest against what it described as attempts by the First Deputy Speaker, Bernard Ahiafor, to frustrate parliamentary oversight during discussions on the government’s proposed SIM card re-registration exercise.
The protest followed a disagreement over supplementary questions the Minority sought to ask the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations regarding the cost of the nationwide exercise.
Addressing the media after the walkout, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin accused the First Deputy Speaker of using Parliament’s Standing Orders to prevent effective scrutiny of government policies.
According to him, the Minority wanted to know the total cost of the new SIM card re-registration exercise and how many people were identified during the previous exercise as having used stolen or unverifiable identities.
He argued that the information was necessary to assess the effectiveness of the policy and ensure accountability in the use of public funds.
Afenyo-Markin also maintained that the supplementary questions were permissible under Parliament’s Standing Orders, insisting they were based on answers already provided by the Minister.
He described the ruling that disallowed the questions as an attempt to shield the Executive from parliamentary scrutiny.
The Minority Leader further claimed that some Majority members disagreed with the ruling but clarified that the walkout was limited to the dispute over the SIM registration exercise and did not amount to a boycott of parliamentary business.
He said the Minority returned to the Chamber after registering its protest and reaffirmed its commitment to holding the government accountable on matters involving public expenditure and national policy.
