Vigilance and Related Offenses Bill at the Examination Stage

<! –

->

<! –

->

Everything is ready for Parliament to begin the examination of the 2019 Vigilance and Related Offenses Bill.

This follows the adoption of the report of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on the bill and the recommendation that it be adopted by the House.

The 10 – article bill, tabled in Parliament on April 11, 2019, under an emergency certificate, is intended to dissolve party groups of political parties in the country and to outlaw the political parties. other acts of vigilance.

According to the report, there are seven groups of vigilante militia linked to political parties in the country. They are the Hawks, the invincible forces, the Delta forces, the Azorka Boys, the Kandahar Boys and the Bolga Bulldogs.

During the second reading of the bill, led by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Gloria Akuffo, in Parliament on Friday, both sides of the House agreed that the bill, when it was pbaded would help to combat political vigilance in the country. country.

Ms. Akuffo moved the motion for the adoption of the report, although the 1960 Act on Criminal and Other Offenses Prohibiting Acts of Vigilance, the Vigilance and Related Offenses Bill, 2019, is a complement existing law to deal with the threat.

But the Builsa North MP, James Agalga, said that the penalties provided for in the law on criminal offenses and other offenses in matters of vigilance are very serious, including death.

According to him, the desire to enforce the existing law was the solution to the problem, not a new text which, according to him, should not be adopted without the publication of the report of the Justice Commission Emile Short, in order to better inform the House of Debates. Bill.

However, Efutu MP Alexander Afenyo-Markin said that the 2019 Vigilance and Related Offenses Bill was of a specific nature, reminding the House that corruption issues should be dealt with Existing laws have been pbaded to support even.

He said that it was essential that all MPs support the adoption of the bill, in order to deter the people being vigilant because they could no longer be placed under the control of the law. a political party aegis to commit a crime.

Haruna Iddrisu, leader of the minority, insisted on the need to publish the report of the Ayawaso West Wuogon inquiry commission, in the concern of an open and responsible governance.

Stressing the need to eliminate political vigilante groups, Iddrisu said the Democratic National Congress, opposition party and the ruling New Patriotic Party were guilty of excesses.

The leader of the majority, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said that the Constitution offered the president the luxury of publishing the report or not, and that the president did not violate any provision.

He said that political parties should stand up for good causes and that if this became the den of illegalities such as aggression, sometimes against internal opponents, these groups would have lost their usefulness.