The Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has defended the frequent absence of Majority Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House, attributing it to accommodation issues and office relocations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His response follows mounting concerns over Parliament\u2019s inability to form a quorum for government business, leading to the adjournment of proceedings last Friday. The absence of MPs, particularly from the Majority side, has raised questions about indiscipline and disruptions to legislative work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking on TV3\u2019s Hot Issues<\/em> on Sunday, February 9, the South Dayi MP dismissed claims that the absences were due to negligence. Instead, he pointed to logistical challenges, especially for newly elected MPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe numbers not showing up are largely from the Majority side. Some are relocating their offices, while others are sorting out their accommodation,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe have about 81 new MPs in Accra trying to settle. Even when I entered Parliament in 2017, things were tough, so I understand the challenges they are facing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dafeamekpor highlighted ongoing office maintenance issues, including non-functional air conditioners and incomplete renovations, as contributing factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSome offices are still being painted, and on about three floors, the air conditioners are not working. When I was on the fifth floor, my air conditioning didn\u2019t work for two years, and I had to rely on a standing fan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He assured that these issues would be resolved by the end of February, improving attendance and parliamentary efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Addressing last Friday\u2019s lack of quorum, Dafeamekpor alleged that the Minority Caucus deliberately staged a walkout to capitalize on the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe had the numbers, but the Minority told their members to walk out so they could use that to raise quorum issues,\u201d he claimed. \u201cThis is a tactic that has been used before, and they are using it against us now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n To address concerns over low attendance, Dafeamekpor revealed plans to meet with newly elected MPs to emphasize the importance of being present for parliamentary sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have a meeting with my freshmen MPs on Tuesday to stress the importance of attendance, at least in the mornings and early afternoons. The public needs to see Parliament functioning properly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also rejected claims that the Majority Caucus was struggling to maintain control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s a fabrication. We are fully capable of managing our majority,\u201d he asserted. \u201cEven with a majority, consensus-building is necessary for effective governance. No matter how dominant a party is, you still have to work with the Minority to move things forward.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has defended the frequent absence of Majority Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House, attributing it to accommodation issues and office relocations. His response follows mounting concerns over Parliament\u2019s inability to form a quorum for government business, leading to the adjournment of proceedings last Friday. The absence of MPs, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"jnews_post_split":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[229,101,70],"coauthors":[22],"class_list":["post-1124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-news-in-ghana","tag-majority-caucus","tag-ndc","tag-rockson-nelson-dafeamekpor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghstandard.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghstandard.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghstandard.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghstandard.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghstandard.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1124"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ghstandard.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1126,"href":"https:\/\/ghstandard.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1124\/revisions\/1126"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghstandard.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghstandard.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghstandard.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghstandard.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1124"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghstandard.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Minority accused of exploiting quorum issues<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Measures to improve attendance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n