The Minority in Parliament thwarted the approval of a $250 million loan from the World Bank by casting ‘no’ votes.
The loan, intended for the Energy Sector Recovery Programme, was to be approved on the last day of the session based on the Finance Committee’s consensus.
Isaac Adongo, the Finance Committee’s Ranking Member, noted that a large portion of the funds was earmarked for consultancy services, which he found concerning.
He suggested that the House approve the loan only after amending the disbursement formula.
Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, the MP for Asawase, also questioned the loan’s allocation.
He expressed confusion over why some of the funds were not designated to enable universities like KNUST in Ghana to manufacture their own meters.
Patrick Boamah provided further details about the loan to the House.
After these discussions, Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin called for a vote.
He said, “Those in favor say ‘aye’ and those against say ‘no.’”
For clarification, he put the question again before the House and concluded, “Well, definitely the nos have it. From the voice vote, the nos have it.”
Following the verdict, Patrick Yaw Boamah, the Committee Chairman, expressed doubt that the opposition had sufficient support.
The Speaker then inquired whether the Majority wished to proceed with a headcount or a division.
The Deputy Majority Whip later explained that their members had not responded affirmatively to the motion due to confusion over the voice vote; he suggested that a new vote would resolve the issue.
Before announcing his decision, the Speaker had previously mentioned that the House would adjourn on June 30, commenting on the numbers involved.
“I have always drawn the attention of the leader of government business, who himself is not even now available. Because you always need numbers behind you when you are taking some stands on issues on the floor. Those numbers are not there, and those who support you to run your business, you will run at them, and so when they react, the result will not be in your favor. Clearly, this is what has happened, and there is no way the Speaker can preside and be pretending to be doing the right thing when everybody will see it so visibly that it is wrong for the Speaker. So, I will do what is right, and truly the nos had it, and the motion is accordingly rejected.”
Patrick Boamah then rose again to challenge the decision of the Speaker.
However, the Speaker said the best course of action was for the House to adjourn sine die, and that was what he proceeded to do.