Alban Sumana Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, has returned from a medical trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Mr Bagbin returned to Dubai for his third medical examination just a week after Parliament returned from recess in January.
The Speaker was expected to be away for two weeks, according to an official communiqué from Parliament.
Accordingly, he has returned and is expected to assume his duties as leader of the House.
Kwesi Parker-Wilson, Parliamentary Correspondent for JoyNews, reports that Mr Bagbin is set to preside over today’s proceedings.
Meanwhile, members of the Majority Caucus have expressed concern about the Speaker’s “frequent absence” from the House, particularly given the ongoing debate over the controversial Electronic Transactions Levy Bill (E-levy).
Because of the current state of the House, Speaker Bagbin’s absence has an impact on the Majority’s numbers.
In the Speaker’s absence in December 2021, both the Minority and Majority caucuses engaged in physical confrontations over the E-levy.
Taking a cue from this, Majority leadership decided to hold a lengthy backdoor meeting with the Minority after learning about the Speaker’s scheduled medical trip.
Following that, Deputy Majority Leader Alexender Afenyo-Markin informed the House that Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta will withdraw the controversial levy from Parliament and reintroduce it later.
However, just last week, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, announced that the Bill will be amended rather than withdrawn from Parliament, as previously announced.
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SOURCE: myjoyonline
