The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has denied knowledge of any Legislative Instrument (L.I.) before Parliament that seeks to amend Road Traffic Regulations. The said L.I. suggests permitting lawmakers and other state officials to use sirens and be exempted from speed limits.
It has faced significant opposition, with the minority caucus demanding its immediate withdrawal by the Transport Minister.
Speaking at a public lecture on private member bills at the University of Ghana, Bagbin clarified that Parliament lacks the constitutional authority to amend regulations.
He said, “There is no such document before Parliament. I suspected something was happening without my knowledge, so I checked with all my directors, who confirmed they had not seen anything like it. I am responsible for admitting these matters, and I haven’t seen any such L.I.”
He mentioned that he was later informed that Parliament was supposedly amending a regulation.
“Later on, I was told that it was a regulation that Parliament was amending. We don’t amend regulations as per the constitution. So, to start, it cannot be true because Parliament doesn’t have that power. In fact, power has been relegated to other bodies,” he stated.