Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has threatened to fully utilise the services of the Marshal Department to restore order in the chamber.

Addressing the House on Wednesday, the Speaker noted that he would no longer bear the breaches being committed in the 8th Parliament by some legislators.

According to him, such recalcitrant MPs would be arrested and sent out of the chamber.

"The Marshal Department, get ready. I'll be compelled to get the Marshal to get people arrested and sent out. Parliament is not a place for joking. It is a place for serious national business. The Parliament we are in has never been (seen) in Ghana, even Gold Coast. This is a different type of Parliament," he said.

The Speaker stressed that the unacceptable conduct put up by some MPs during proceedings suggest that they are unaware of the responsibilities expected of them.

"What is happening in this Parliament is completely unacceptable. I'm not sure you have an appreciation of the temperature of the country. Neither am I sure you know the arduous nature of the responsibility that has been placed on your shoulders. You are all matured adults."

To address the challenge, he stressed, "we must be prepared to change to accept the decision of the people and work together."

Speaker Alban Bagbin commented when he expressed displeasure over the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu's decision to overrule a motion he had admitted to ensure a bi-partisan committee is constituted to probe into government's Covid-19 expenditure.

According to the Speaker, the noise in the chamber often leads to misunderstanding of proceedings.

A report filed by JoyNews' Kwesi Parker-Wilson indicated that in the Speaker's view, the First Deputy Speaker was misled into allowing the private member's motion on the inquiry to be seconded before the objection could be taken.

Dismissal of motion to probe into Covid-19 expenditure

On Tuesday, Member of Parliament for the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam Constituency, Ato Cassiel Forson, moved a motion for the House to constitute a bi-partisan committee to look into the activities of government with respect to Covid-19 expenditure.

The Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, rose to make a preliminary objection to the tabling of the motion. The Speaker then requested that he suspends his objection, wait for the motion to be tabled, and then submit his objection.

Mr Afenyo-Markin sought clarification on the extent of the Speaker’s ruling. The clarification provided was that “it was improper to object to a motion that had not even been tabled in the first place”.

The Bekwai MP, Joseph Osei-Owusu, who assumed the role of the acting Speaker in the absence of Speaker Bagbin, threw out the private members’ motion for a probe into government’s Covid-19 expenditure.

He argued the motion ought not to have been admitted by Bagbin in the first place.

Following his action, the Minority in Parliament accused the First Deputy Speaker of usurping the Speaker’s powers.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, argued that government is avoiding accountability.

But the Speaker has indicated that Mr Osei-Owusu’s decision to overrule his ruling over the matter, particularly when he had admitted the motion is unconstitutional, illegal and offensive.