The Minority Caucus in Parliament staged a dramatic walkout on Wednesday to protest what they described as attempts by the First Deputy Speaker to block supplementary questions on the cost and procurement of government’s new biometric SIM re-registration exercise.
The protest erupted during a question session involving the Minister of Communication, Samuel Nartey George.
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin addressing journalists said the Deputy Speaker’s handling of supplementary questions and his frustrating conduct triggered their decision to leave the chamber.
“Anytime our backbenchers were on their feet, he used the rules to frustrate them. The rules are not meant to intimidate or bring Parliament to a standstill,” Afenyo-Markin said.
The Caucus argued that they sought clarity on the financial implications of the new registration, particularly after the Minister had assured that it would come “at no cost to the consumer.” They insisted that Parliament and the public deserved to know the procurement processes and the overall cost to the state.
According to the Minority, the Deputy Speaker ruled their supplementary question out of order, describing it as “a new question.” They countered that parliamentary rules allow supplementary questions to be anchored on answers provided by ministers for clarification.
“It’s the reason why we walked out. We protested his posture on this matter, but we are returning to the chamber for other business,” the Minority Leader added.
The Minister disclosed that an audit of two million SIMs from the 2022 exercise found none had been biometrically verified against the National Identification Authority database, necessitating a fresh registration drive.
