Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has urged Commerce and Business Minister, Okay.T. Hammond to retract his contentious Legislative Instrument (LI) aimed toward regulating cement costs.
The proposed L.I. confronted opposition from NDC MPs, whose management surprisingly softened its stance later, permitting it to be introduced, drawing criticism from some backbenchers.
Former Minority Chief, Haruna Iddrisu labelled the L.I. as illegal, asserting it mustn’t have been launched and hinted at potential authorized motion.
He cited Article 11 of the structure, which mandates rules to be grounded in a dad or mum act, particularly referencing the Ghana Requirements Authority Act 2022, Act 1078 Part 80
”Mr. Speaker, Part 80 makes use of the phrase sale and promoting. That is pricing. Have they got a mandate to control primarily based on 80? That’s constitutional. The Ghana Commonplace Authority is an establishment to control requirements, not pricing. “
Nevertheless, Majority Chief Alexander Afenyo-Markin expressed a unique view, asserting that the Minister adopted correct process in presenting the instrument for consideration.
Mr Afenyo-Markin emphasised that the content material of the laws, reflecting thorough deliberation, needs to be the main focus, regardless of preliminary perceptions primarily based on its title.
“Nevertheless, Mr. Speaker, I heard you loudly while you suggested that the Minister take a second have a look at all of the issues we’ve additional mentioned right here. Mr. Speaker, I’ll carry it to him. He’s not current with us, however I’ll carry that to him in order that we are able to come again.”.
Chairman of the Subsidiary Laws Committee, Dr. Dominic Ayine, highlighted that based on the Ghana Requirements Authority Act, the Minister possesses the authority to determine rules governing particular points of the authority’s operations.
He emphasised that the first mandate of the Ghana Requirements Authority pertains to making sure the requirements and high quality of products manufactured in Ghana, not the pricing of these items.
Dr Ayine identified that Part 2 of the MPA Act explicitly mandates the MPA to control the petroleum pricing system, which contrasts with the scope outlined within the Ghana Requirements Authority Act.
He famous that he sought the Lawyer Common’s opinion on the matter, and whereas Part 80 was cited as offering a statutory foundation, he expressed disagreement with this interpretation.
“I additionally requested the drafting division of Parliament to supply me with an opinion, in truth, a written opinion, and that written opinion additionally stated that they help the bases of the regulation in Part 80F and R of the Ghana Commonplace Authority Act. Mr. Speaker and I made a decision that we’d proceed with the rules on the pre-laying stage and that I used to be going to lift it to the ultimate report back to the Home.”