The Chairman for the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Ben Abdallah Banda, has stated that stakeholders engagements on the newly laid Vigilantism and Related Offences Bill will start soon.
In an interview with ghanajustice.com, Mr. Abdallah Banda indicated that memoranda have been sent to the various stakeholders, including political parties, to prepare for the deliberations on the Bill.
The Chairman for the Constitutional Committee who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Offinso South explained that the engagements will cover the objective of the Bill and other relevant isaues.
However, Mr. Abdallah Banda added that the Committee has not settled on the specific date for the consultation.
The Offinso South MP again noted that the Vigilantism Bill cannot be passed into law when Parliament is recalled on April 29, 2019 due to some concerns raised in the Bill.
On the proposal to rename the Vigilantism Bill to ‘Militias Bill’ by the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr. James Klutse Avedzi, Mr. Abdallah Banda reiterated that the context of which the Bill was drafted relates well with the name.
He indicated that he does not see the rationale in changing the name of the Vigilantism and Related Offences Bill into ‘Militias Bill.
The Vigilantism and Related Offences Bill, 2019
The Vigilantism and Related Offences Bill, 2019 was presented to Parliament on April 10, 2019 and laid at the Plenary on April 12, 2019, by the Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Miss Gloria Akuffo.
The Bill was laid under a Certificate of Urgency as stated in the Explanatory Memorandum attached to the Vigilantism Bill.
However, the House declined in passing the Bill before going on recess due to objections raised by some Members of Parliament on broader stakeholders’ consultations with Civil Society Organisations and the various political parties.
The Vigilantism Bill is made up of ten Clauses and five Sections which include, Preliminary provisions, Political Party Vigilante Group, Vigilantism, Miscellaneous Provisions and the Schedule.
The Schedule to the Bill cited some identified political vigilante groups. These are the Hawks, Invisible Forces, Delta Forces, Azorka Boys, Bamba Boys, Kandahar Boys and the Bolga Bulldogs.
Source: GhanaJustice/S.Ayisi
