An attempt by the Minister of Defense, Mr Mark Woyongo, to order Members
of Parliament (MPs) to observe a minute’s silence in honour of soldiers
who had died in defense of humanity was foiled when the Speaker of
Parliament reminded him that he had no such power in the House to do so.
At the end of a statement to commemorate Remembrance Day, which falls on
November 11, every year, Mr Woyongo had requested the entire House to
rise for a minute to pay homage to the fallen heroes.
At the end of the statement when he found that the MPs were still on
their seats, he repeated his request and said, “Honourable members, we
will stand to observe a minute’s silence in memory of our gallant fallen
soldiers.”
His request, however, sent the entire House laughing, as the Speaker of
Parliament, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, reminded him that he had no such power
to ask the House to stand to observe a minute’s silence.
“Honourable Member, you don’t come to this House and seize control of
proceedings. If the mood in the House after the end of the
statement demanded so, I will make the order,” he said, compelling Mr
Woyongo to apologise before resuming his seat.
Mr Mark Woyongo’s statement
In his statement, Mr Woyongo had applauded Parliament for working
tirelessly to pass the Veterans Administration Act, Act 844, to ensure
that proper attention was paid to the welfare of veterans honourably
released from the military.
It would also see to the maintenance and comfort of those who required
special treatment, such as the disabled, the sick, the aged, the infirm,
the needy and the destitute.
“It is my prayer that the government and all our countrymen and women
will work diligently towards the promotion of peace and development,
just like the contributions of these soldiers who have exhibited
discipline, hard work, good moral standards and other virtues for the
development and progress of society,” he said..
Mr Woyongo reminded Ghanaians that without security, no development
would thrive, and added that insecurity impacted negatively on the
living standards of the people.
Contributions
Contributing to the statement, the MP for Okaikoi Central, Mr Patrick
Yaw Boamah, expressed worry over the poor treatment of the country’s
veterans.
He called for the proper care of military museums to enable future
generations to learn about and appreciate the contributions of veterans.
For his part, the Majority Chief Whip and MP for Asawase, Alhaji Muntaka
Mohammed Mubarak, said Ghana needed to find a way to bring back the
concept of volunteerism as exhibited by some veteran soldiers.
The MP for Akuapem North, Mr William Ofori Boafo, urged Ghanaians not
only to be happy about elaborate ceremonies to commemorate Remembrance
Day but also put in place measures to adequately reward veteran soldiers
who had sacrificed their lives for humanity.
After the contributions, however, Mr Adjaho led the House to observe a
minute’s silence in honour of the gallant veteran soldiers.
Source: [Daily Graphic/Ghana]
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