The Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Ocquaye has disclosed that the coronavirus pandemic grappling the world has brought to fore the need for a new parliamentary chamber.
He said the need for social distancing in order to curb the spread of the virus will force parliament to relocate to the Accra International Conference Centre for sittings.
In light of this, Prof. Mike Ocquaye defended the need for a new chamber for parliamentarians which caused an uproar from Ghanaians last year.
Ghanaians in July 2019 opposed the construction of a new chamber, forcing parliament to abandon plans to build a new $200 million chamber, describing it as insensitive.
In announcing the decision to relocate to members, the Speaker remarked: “As the Majority Leader suggested, the other day, we are in the process of making all relevant arrangements if we can relocate temporarily to the conference centre…and carry on. Maybe, this would make people realise that Parliament is in need of a more spacious place”.
According to the Speaker, the Conference centre is spacious and would allow all parliamentarians to properly observe the measures against the spread of the COVID-19 disease.
