Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Abena Osei-Asare, has expressed concern over the disruption of a committee sitting after Majority members withdrew to participate in plenary proceedings.
She explained that the incident stalled the committee’s work on Wednesday, March 25, as it was reviewing the Auditor-General’s report on government payables and commitments as of December 2024.
Addressing the Parliament of Ghana, Mrs Osei-Asare noted that although the sitting commenced as scheduled, it was abruptly interrupted around 11:15 a.m. when the Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, directed members on his side to leave in order to help form a quorum in the chamber.
According to her, the departure of key members made it impossible for the committee to proceed, forcing a suspension of the sitting and the dismissal of invited stakeholders.
“Mr Speaker, a report on the special audits was referred to the Public Accounts Committee with clear timelines. We began sitting at 9:00 a.m., but around 11:15 a.m., a whip from the Majority side informed members they had to excuse themselves. Without the required ranking members, we could not continue,” she stated.
She further raised concerns about meeting the committee’s deadline and appealed for guidance on how to proceed, noting that all invited stakeholders had already been present when proceedings were halted.
In response, Mr Dafeamekpor dismissed claims that the Majority intended to undermine the committee’s work, attributing the decision to the heavy parliamentary workload.
He explained that a prior agreement had been reached to temporarily suspend committee sittings in order to prioritise plenary business, adding that alternative arrangements had been proposed to avoid scheduling conflicts.
“Mr Speaker, the impression that we are not interested in the committee’s work is inaccurate. We agreed yesterday [March 24] that due to the heavy nature of business, committee activities should be suspended until Friday,” he said.
He added that committees could instead meet after adjournment or between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. before plenary begins to prevent quorum challenges.
Mr Dafeamekpor assured that the PAC would still have adequate time to complete its work and submit its report within the stipulated timeframe.
