It hurts to tag parliament as a useless entity, Second Deputy Speaker Joe Osei-Wusu has complained.
“I read yesterday from somewhere that somebody says parliament is useless, it should be removed; well we are entitled to our views,” Mr Osei-Wusu said in an interview aired on Friday 14 July in reference to comments made by financial analyst Sydney Casely-Hayford at a summit on the theme: The Economic and Political Rise of Africa.
Mr Casely-Hayford told an audience at that summit that: “The first thing I’ll do in Ghana if I had the opportunity [is that] I’ll break down parliament. We don’t need it.”
According to him, the MPs are just wasting money and doing nothing useful. “These people are sitting there, spending money like crazy, making stupid decisions, and passing stupid laws,” Mr Casely-Hayford said.
“They [MPs] don’t read the papers that they are given, they don’t think through what the challenges are. All they can think of is: ‘let’s pass this thing quickly, let’s take some money, let’s go to Senchi Royal, let’s go and sit there and chill and come back and that’s the pattern.”
The social commentator, therefore, suggested that the house be used as a tourist attraction. “So me the first thing I say [is]: ‘let’s use it [parliament]. Maybe if you break it down, you are wasting money so we won’t break it down but we can use it as a tourist attraction. We can say: ‘this is what we used to do in the past, so you come for a tour and then we should just poster it all so people can see.”
According to Mr Casely-Hayford, rather than having a central legislature, “we should have regional parliaments, every region, we have 10 of them in Ghana, every region must have its own little parliament, every region must have its own law courts, every region must have its ministries and down at that level, let the decisions be made as to where they want to go.”
He has subsequently apologised for his comments which he described as “harsh” and “over the top” following a statement on the floor of the house by Kumbungu MP Ras Mubarak who demanded he be hauled before the Privileges Committee of the house to face contempt charges.
Speaking in an interview on Joy FM, Mr Osei-Wusu expressed pain that such comments could be made by people who should know better.
“… Those who really want to talk about parliament, I think it will be fair for them to engage here [parliament], find out what committees go to do at the meetings they go to; why is it that committee work is being done or parliament work is being done on a weekend? … If any of them, either in their private or public places, work on the weekend, will they claim overtime [allowance], will they claim overnight allowances, will they claim their transport if the organisation is not transporting them? Yet these same people who are criticising parliament for taking these payments also claim them in their organisations…” he said.
“Because parliament itself is a body that interfaces with the people directly, I think people take the institution for granted. It’s really hurting to hear, for example, somebody say parliament is useless. Now if that person met me in my private organisation as a private lawyer, he will pay me any amount I demand to use my services, that service that I am using to take monthly salary, the amount I take monthly here [parliament], he will pay one day for one document, that same expertise…”
According to the former CEO of the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), all the MPs in the house are professionals who have either worked with the public sector or run their private businesses successfully without blemish before becoming legislators and so he found it puzzling for the collective of them to be branded useless. “…How did we become useless only because we came together? It’s a pity, most especially when it is coming from people who know and can find out,” the Bekwai MP added.
Source: starrfmonline.com
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Ah, this man paa, who doesnt know parliament is ***barred word***. You guys don not need to be told. I wish that institution is abolish someday so that the money spend the house will be channeled to healthcare.
Parliament has come out with so many regulations and laws whose intent beat the understanding of any decent well meaning Ghanaian. Parliament as an institution must evaluate its performance and find why people have such a low perception of this august institution.
Fellow Ghanaians demanding better from our parliament is crucial and very important but any suggestion to abolish it is a bad idea. Even in the federal states they have national parliament, congress or whatever name is given. Do we have to abolish the courts because some judges are corrupt? Do we have to abolish the police because some policemen and policewomen are corrupt? Should the dvla stop operating because of the fraud in their operations? We all know the massive corruption at the harbours, should we break it down? What about the internal revenue? We should demand accountability, an improved performances and openness from our institutions. That is my take.
Indeed, if the August house is to serve the good people of Ghana, then the same should lead exemplary lives for others to emulate. To be paid for services in your private practices should not be recipe to be getting allowances for any job being done in the house. Look at the state of our roads, lack of logistics in our health institutions, school buildings, attitude of some Ghanaians to work etc. Hauling people to the privileges committee does not solve problem(s) but to sit back and reflect on why same made that comment.
Parliament is more than ***barred word***
Ah so "honourable" is parliament not ***barred word***? I are taking bribes and U do nothing worth in the house so why are you saying its hurtful to be describe as ***barred word***? If you don't want that tag then you guys must justify by doing things that would make us see your worth.
it is very true, you people are not taking sensible decisions what do you want him to say?
Why should some of your colleagues take bribes before considering bills? That made parliament use11ess..... You guys don't deserve ex-gratia at the end of every 4 years.....
Mr Owusu...if what you are saying about your colleagues are true then...am ashame for u guys.....if you guys go through the whole weekends to give us a better bill parliament...then am sorry my boss...u guys are doing ***barred word*** jobs as he has said it....i think it is time we call a spade a spade n guys should stop hiding behind those immunity and do the right thing for the betterment of Ghana but not rather ur ***barred word*** and ***barred word*** political parties....