Parliament adjourns to give time for campaiging

Centre spread, Nov 15, 2008
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
PARLIAMENT on Friday adjourned to give Members of Parliament (MPs) who are contesting their seats during the forthcoming elections ample time to campaign.
The House will, however, reconvene on December 16, 2008 to finish the business of the meeting before adjourning sine die.
The House is expected to be dissolved on January 6, 2009 to pave the way for the inauguration of the Fifth Parliament of the Fourth Republic on January 7, 2009.
It is now clear that more than 40 members of the House are not contesting their seats for one reason or another. Prominent among them is the Majority Leader, Mr Abraham Ossei Aidooh, who lost his bid to contest the Tema West seat during the NPP primary.
Others on the Majority side include the MP for Berekum, Mr Nkrabea Effah-Dartey, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, MP for Manhyia, Mr Akwasi Osei-Adjei, the Foreign Minister and MP for Ejisu Juaben and Dr K.K. Apraku, MP for Offinso North.
On the Minority side are Dr Kwame Ampofo, MP for South Dayi, Mr Ken Dzirasah, MP for Central Tongu, Mr Samuel Sallas-Mensah, MP for Upper West Akim and Mr Francis Abotse, among others.
Delivering his closing remarks, Mr Aidooh thanked the MPs for their immense co-operation, which had ensured the smooth running of the meeting.
He stated that though the period of the meeting was very short, a lot was achieved due to the dedication of the MPs, who shuttled between their constituencies and the House to transact business.
Mr Aidooh expressed the hope that all members of the House would retain their seats to maintain the status quo in the House.
The Deputy Minority Leader, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, asked the MPs going to campaign to maintain the cordial relationship among them in the House while in their constituencies to portray to their constituents that politicians were not enemies.
He thanked his colleagues for their co-operation during the meeting and expressed the hope that the country would witness yet another historic election.
The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Freddie Blay, on behalf of the Speaker, thanked both the Majority and Minority sides of the House, the staff of the Parliamentary Service and the Parliamentary Press Corps for their contributions to the success of the meeting.
Before the House adjourned, members passed the Education Bill.
The bill seeks to incorporate the lessons learnt from the over 50 years of state control and management of educational reforms and give substance to Article 38 of the Constitution, which enjoins the government of the day to provide educational facilities at all levels and in all regions and to make those facilities available to the citizenry.