In Parliament on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, the matter about the use of the Dispatch Box came up just after Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, walked to the Dispatch Box to ask the Minister of Trade, Industry and Agribusiness an urgent question.
But his question could not be taken as a confusion broke out when the Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga sought to block him from performing that exercise, using the Dispatch Box.
The Minority Leader argued that there’s no provision in the standing order that limits the use of the Dispatch Box to ask a question.
“It is my case that the invitation by the Majority Leader to you to deny me the opportunity to use the Dispatch Box to ask a question is not founded on any rule. Mr. Speaker, I have gone through the rules and where the Standing Orders intends to make something mandatory, it expressly states so…
“Mr. Speaker, there’s no such express provision that when you file a question and the Minister is here to answer, the Member must necessarily stand in his place before asking moreso when the question is in the name of the leader,” the Effutu lawmaker argued.
But the Majority side was against this position of the Minority.
The Majority Caucus maintained that the Dispatch Box is only used for statements by Ministers, Ceremonial heads of State or leaders of the House but not to ask a question.
This led to a back and forth in the House until the First Deputy Speaker, Bernard Ahiafor, who was presiding over proceedings suspended the House for a deliberation with the leadership of Parliament and finality brought to the matter.
A clause of Order 88 of the Standing Orders of Parliament states that “a member called shall rise and ask the question that stands in the name of the member on the order paper.’
In fact, the Dispatch Box has by convention been reserved for Ministers who come to respond to questions in the House, ceremonial State Heads who come to give a speech on the floor of the House.
Leaders of the House, acting in their capacity as such, can also use the Dispatch Box.
This was the argument from the Majority side that an MP in his or her capacity as an MP representing his or her constituency must ask a question from their seats using their mics and not use the Dispatch Box as Afenyo-Markin sought to do.
After nearly an hour recess, the House resumed sitting and the Speaker ruled on the matter.
The Speaker gave a ruling that barred members of parliament from using the dispatch box to ask questions in their representative capacity.
“Any member in his representative capacity [as MP] but not in the capacity of the caucus should rise in his or her place to ask a question, and not use the dispatch box,” Bernard Ahiafor declared.
