Uniquenewsgh.com News, Politics, African News Updates & More
The 8th Parliament’s Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has candidly reflected on the challenges of navigating the legislative terrain over the past four years.
Addressing Parliament on Monday, January 6, 2025, Afenyo-Markin characterised the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority as a “tough, stubborn, and difficult” opposition bloc that made consensus-building nearly impossible.
“Mr Speaker, many did not understand why I was combative on several occasions,” he remarked. “Some didn’t know how the heat was on me and were saying, ‘You are Majority Leader; reach out.’ But the Minority were such a tough, stubborn, and difficult side. Mr Speaker, you could never have an agreement with them because they were smelling power, and I understand, rightly so.”
The Majority Leader’s reflections highlight a recurring theme during the 8th Parliament: intense partisanship that often stalled government business.
Afenyo-Markin also admitted that the lack of cooperation from the Minority hindered the completion of key legislative agendas.
For his part, Minority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson vehemently condemned what he described as a politically motivated prosecution against him during his closing remarks ahead of the dissolution of the 8th Parliament.
Dr. Forson, who was charged with an ambulance procurement deal, insisted that the allegations were baseless and intended to undermine his leadership.
“My recent prosecution, or call it persecution, by the Attorney General over frivolous and trumped-up charges was calculated to intimidate and silence and completely extinguish a known dissenting voice,” he declared. “My crime was that I sounded alarm bells on an economy that was being mismanaged and ruined by a select few in government.”
Forson further linked the timing of his prosecution to his outspoken opposition to the controversial e-levy policy, a fiscal measure that sparked widespread dissent.
He accused Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame of orchestrating a “malicious prosecution” designed to serve partisan interests and suppress dissent within the opposition.
“The fact that my prosecution began in the wake of the tussle over e-levy should not be lost on anyone that I became an instant target of the regime,” Forson asserted.
The 8th Parliament of Ghana has been one of Ghana’s most contentious legislative terms, marked by heated debates, procedural wrangling, and moments of physical confrontation.
It will be remembered as a period defined by its stalemates, heated rhetoric, and the unyielding resolve of both sides to advance their respective agendas
