27 Feb 2014 Citizens of Ghana are still commenting on a rather controversial decision to ban the use of popular slang “tweaa” from parliamentary proceedings.
The word is an Akan interjection used mainly to express contempt for a statement and had started to gain widespread use in parliament, with members of parliament using the word against colleagues making statements or contributions to statements on the floor of the House, evoking laughter and distracting from issues raised.
Following a request by Mr Isaac Osei to find out if the word could indeed be used, the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, promptly banned its use in parliament.
However, this decision has drawn mockery across the board with citizens remarking that the parliament should focus on more important issues.
President of the Ghana Association of Writers Mr Kwasi Gyan Apenteng has argued that, the Speaker of Parliament is trying to undo at least 6000 years of recorded history; arguing that ‘tweaa’ has existed from humanity’s earliest dawn.
According to him, “Take David and Goliath: The Philistine colossus bestrode the warzone shouting imprecations at the hapless Israelites. David, a shepherd boy stepped forward and said ‘tweaa’ before releasing the stone from the sling…”
‘Tweaa’ has gained currency since the District Chief Executive for Ahafo Ano South, Mr Gabriel Barima, flared up when a member of an audience he was addressing in the Ashanti Region used it to express contempt for a statement he had made. The upset parliamentarian stormed off, but the video has since gone viral, with spoof videos and memes now flooding Ghanaian cyberspace.
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