The Member of Parliament for Okre, Dan Botwe, stormed out of Parliament Tuesday in protest of Parliaments decision that the director-general of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) only apologises for insulting Adansi Asokwa MP K.T. Hammond.
Mr Botwe said the punishment was too lenient for a man who had a penchant for insulting Members of Parliament. The Okre MP�s reaction was after the House�s Privileges Committee had presented a report which faulted Mr Ampem Darko for insulting Mr K.T. Hammond.
Mr Hammond had earlier demanded the dismissal of the GBC boss who he accused of taking politically-motivated decisions, a situation the MP said has adversely affected the output of the state broadcaster. The director-general was dragged to the committee last month to explain why he verbally assaulted the Adansi Asokwa MP. But responding to the issues on the floor of Parliament, Mr Botwe said the GBC boss� offence warranted a more deterring punishment.
He insisted the reported remorse shown by Mr Ampem Darko is fake and that asking for an apology is no right judgment. �If it is true that Parliament has some powers and somebody has shown contempt to Parliament and could be sanctioned then obviously the person will say I am apologising,� Mr Botwe said.�You will have thousands of people continuously insulting Parliament and coming to apologise.� Parliament however insists the director-general of the state broadcaster must render an unqualified apology to Mr Hammond �on all platforms� of the media house � radio and television.
Meanwhile Majority leader Alban Sumani Bagbin has warned that Parliament would not take kindly to any such behaviour in the future. He stressed that using unsavoury language against the legislature is nothing less than insulting the entire nation. �When you insult Parliament or a Member of Parliament, it is Ghana you are insulting,� he stressed. �That is why you cannot slap a police officer; it�s not because the person is stronger than you but that will be an assault to the nation.�
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