Ghanaians demonstrate against $200m new chamber
Parliament finally drops #ThaChamber
Asiedu Nketia reveals alleged cause of Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu’s attack on Bagbin
But for the firmness of the Parliamentary Service Board, the construction of a new chamber for parliament would have been captured in the 2022 budget, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, a member of the board has revealed.
According to him, the parliamentary budget which was prepared by the office of the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs had captured a proposed construction of a new parliamentary chamber but the board stood its ground and rejected it.
Asiedu Nketia said majority of the board members agreed that with the hardship in the country, it will not be right for funds to be committed to a new a chamber.
Asiedu Nketia stated on Okay FM that the rejection of the new chamber is what is fuelling Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu’s attacks on Bagbin.
He said Bagbin was insistent that component be expelled from the budget as it was not sending the right message to Ghanaians.
“Kyei-Mensah is angry because he added the new chamber to the budget and Speaker and the board rejected it. That is why he is hurting and saying all kinds of things about the Speaker. In this difficult economy, how do you think of building a new parliamentary chamber. He is the one who prepared the budget. The first time Bagbin saw the budget was when it was presented,” he said.
Asiedu Nketia blamed the chaos in Parliament on December 20, 2021 on Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.
The NDC scribe says that Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu is aversed to the truth and he has not been candid with Ghanaians.
“What is happening is due to Kyei-Mensah’s leadership and his abhorrence for the truth. I doubt he knows the word truth. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu prepared the parliamentary budget and Speaker complained that the accountants did not show it to him before we went for board meeting. How can speaker dictate what should be captured in the budget?”
It will be recalled in 2019, hundreds of Ghanaians demonstrated against a proposal for the construction of a new chamber for Parliament.
The #DropthatChamber campaign yielded results as it compelled the house to ‘drop’ the project that was rumoured to cost $200million