Majority Leader of the 8th Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin has offered a candid reflection on the challenges of navigating the legislative terrain over the past four years.
Addressing Parliament on Monday, January 6, 2025, Afenyo-Markin characterised the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority as a "tough, stubborn, and difficult" opposition bloc that made consensus-building nearly impossible. "Mr Speaker, many did not understand why I was combative on a number of occasions," he remarked. "There were those who didn't know how the heat was on me and were saying, 'You are Majority Leader; reach out.' But the Minority were such a tough, stubborn, difficult side.
Mr Speaker, you could never have an agreement with them because they were smelling power, and I understand, rightly so." The Majority Leader's reflections highlight a recurring theme during the 8th Parliament: intense partisanship that often-stalled government business.
Afenyo-Markin also admitted that the lack of cooperation from the Minority hindered the completion of key legislative agendas. "The number of government business I would have loved to complete for political expediency and perhaps for purposes of principle, I did not get the support from the respected colleagues," he noted.
