Ghana’s Parliament is “corrupt” and selfish, former flagbearer aspirant Dr Kobina Aurthur Kennedy has written in a polemic.
Haranguing about the “ineptitude” and sloppiness of the Legislative, the medical Doctor said not only has “Parliament failed to supervise the Executive”, but also failed to put the public interest above its parochial interests.
Dr Kennedy also accused the 275 MPs and the entire institution of surrendering their constitutional functions to others.
Explaining his corruption charge, Dr Kennedy said: “The evidence is overwhelming.”
Quoting Senior Legislator Alban Bagbin to buttress his point, Dr Kennedy said: “Speaking at a Seminar for NGO’s in Koforidua in March of this year, former majority leader Alban Bagbin, accused MPs of taking bribes.”
“He said: ‘The reality is that MP’s are Ghanaians and there is evidence that some MP’s take bribes and come to the floor and try to articulate the views of their sponsors.’
“Mr. Bagbin’s allegation is not the first against Parliament,” Dr Kennedy wrote.
“Years ago, former MP P.C. Appiah Ofori had alleged that MPs were bribed to support the Vodafone deal in 2008. Mr. Bagbin’s claims have been supported by former MP Jabanyite and others.”
In his view, “Ghanaians are being screwed multiple times by our Parliament.”
“We pay them to guard the public purse. The executive pays them to approve corrupt deals—private companies pay them to propagate bogus opinions and we are poorer for it,” he observed.
Adducing evidence to support his claim that Parliament is selfish, Dr Kennedy said: “In December of 2013, the leadership of Parliament requested the National Security Co-coordinator, the Interior Minister and the Parliamentary Service Board to provide armed police escort for all 275 Members of Parliament in the shortest possible time or risk a Parliamentary summon.”
He said according to media reports, the MPs insisted the attacks on some of them were insufferable and so needed immediate security.
“Wow!! While the MPs certainly deserve security, they might do well to consider that their own problem with security is part of a broader security problem. People have been shot in their homes.
“Travelers arriving at our airports have been tailed home and robbed. Vehicles on the highway have been stopped and robbed. Should our lawmakers not ensure the security of their constituents first before worrying about themselves?”