Minority walks out over legislation for new holidays

The Minority walked out of Parliament on Thursday, 28 February 2019 to demonstrate their disapproval of the Holiday Amendment Bill currently before the House.

The Bill if passed will see Founder’s Day moved from 21st September to 4th August. Also, 7th January which has since 1993 being the day of inauguration and swearing in of new President’s or renewal of mandates of old ones, will now be a holiday known as Constitutional Day.

During the debate on the motion for the introduction of the holidays, the lawmakers from both sides engaged in a heated debate over the importance of the bill culminating in a boycott of proceedings by the opposition MPs.

The Minority argued that the Bill is attempting to revise the history of the country, and thus they will not be part of it.

Meanwhile, Vice Chair of the Defense and Interior Committee, Collins Owusu Amankwah said the absence of the Minority in parliament will not affect ongoing debates on amendments to the bill.

Speaking to parliamentary correspondent, Ekow Annan, Mr Owusu Amankwah referenced a document to back claims that Dr Kwame Nkrumah himself appreciated the efforts of others in the struggle for independence.

Source: Class