The Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, during proceedings on Monday, July 21, 2025, praised the Member of Parliament for Effiduase/Asokore and Ranking Member of the Health Committee, Dr Nana Ayew Afriye, describing him as the “most reasonable” committee leader from his side.
Addressing the floor during deliberations for the Second Reading of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund Bill, 2025, the Minority Leader, who has always emphasized the need for consultations and consensus-building, urged the Majority to create room for sufficient discussions on the Bill, considering the Ranking Members commitment to rallying his side of the House to engage effectively in business, especially on matters concerning health.
According to the Minority Leader, it is important for the Majority Caucus to strive for collaboration between the two sides of the House instead of seeking to have their way using the law and the advantage of their numbers.
I dont want to place much emphasis on the law, but today is not your last day of doing business, Chief Whip. Whatever discussion you claim to have had, I do not think it was sufficient to carry the House on board. It is not sufficient to carry all of us on board. Besides, look at your numbers. You say you are coming to do something under a Certificate of Urgency. On your own side, if you check in this chamber, do we even have the quorum to sit, let alone the quorum to take decisions? So, I would plead with you. It is your government policy. It is your government. You have your priorities.
Nobody will stand in your way. But let us allow consensus for this. This is democracy. Nobody is stampeding you on this side of the House. In fact, our Ranking Member, Dr Nana Ayew Afriye, is the most reasonable ranking member you can have. Maybe at the risk of making a disclosure, when we get hard on him, he is the one who is able to calm the caucus and say, Look, this is a health matter. Lets do it this way. Ask him. Maybe I must reveal this: anytime we go hard on him, he says, Leaders, I am the chair. You have put me there as ranking. I think we should support Akandoh, he stated.
Despite emphasizing their concerns over the Bill being rushed and the possibility of this leading to a lack of adequate scrutiny, engagement, and consultations, the Minority expressed their willingness to support the Bill owing to its fundamental objective, which aims to address the rising cases of non-communicable diseases in the country.
However, the Minority on Monday forced the House to defer the Second Reading of the Bill over a lack of quorum to make decisions.
The Deputy Chief Whip of the Minority Caucus, Habib Iddrisu, arrested the motion by citing Article 124 of the 1992 Constitution.
Despite an attempt by the Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, to defer the matter to Standing Order 64 of Parliament, the Minority Chief Whip rebutted that his objection was grounded in Article 104, which pertains to the quorum for decision-making and not the quorum for conducting business as specified in the cited Standing Order and Article 102 of the Constitution.
The Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, while arguing against the ability of the Minority Chief Whip to stop the Speaker from putting a question by procedure, noted the exhaustion of members and some absences due to other engagements and supported the need for an adjournment.
Personally, my views are that once the Honourable Member invoked the Constitution, its clear, and until he probably decides to put it aside, I have no option but to adjourn the House till tomorrow. The Constitution is clear; he didnt use the Standing Orders whereby we could probably go through the procedure, and if he abandons his application, we will move on. Otherwise, indulge me to end proceedings, the Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Amoako Asiamah, ruled.
The Ghana Medical Trust Fund Bill, according to the government, seeks to enact legislation for the mobilization of resources to finance and support the provision of specialized medical care for the treatment of persons with chronic diseases and to provide for the management of the fund and related matters.
The Ghana Medical Care Trust Fund, also known as Mahama Cares, was launched on April 29, 2025, by President John Dramani Mahama to provide financial support for Ghanaians with chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, diabetes, kidney failure, and stroke.
It aims to cover treatment costs not covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), funded primarily by the uncapped National Health Insurance Levy, government budgets, and corporate contributions.
However, some members of the Minority, including the Ranking Member of the Health Committee, Dr Nana Ayew Afriye, have various concerns regarding issues of funding, duplicity, and sustainability of the fund.
According to the Ranking Member, the objective of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, in comparison to the NHIS, has the potential to lead to duplications.
GA