Financial Analyst and Social Commentator, Sydney Casely-Hayford, has rubbished calls for members of parliament to be provided state security.
The debate over security for the legislators has been rekindled following the stabbing to death of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP, Joseph Boakye Danquah-Adu.
Those opposed to the idea have argued for a rather improved security of all Ghanaians and not for selected few.
The MP was killed on Tuesday dawn at his residence at Shiashi in Accra where he lived with his family.
The suspected killer, who was arrested on Thursday, allegedly scaled the wall to the MP’s house and used a ladder to climb into his bedroom where he stabbed him several times and left him in a pool of blood.
But in arguing his point that MP’s need no special security, Mr. Casely-Hayford, said on Citi FM’s news and current affairs analysis programme, ‘The Big Issue’, that the MP in the first place, was not killed in the course of his duty as a legislator.
“I want to touch on the issue of MPs asking for additional security because J.B Danquah has been murdered. I am asking the question whether he was murdered because of a legislation he aided to pass or whether it was because of certain rules and statutes that he has supported which thwarted procedures in parliament or stopped the executive from doing what they wanted to do; or whether he did anything which somebody feels aggrieved about and therefore went after him doing his job as an MP….And I think that’s a big distinction from a ‘contract’ murder. He was not killed in the line of duty.”
He further argued that inasmuch as the work of MPs is challenging, their work is much more a civic responsibility which does not expose them to any danger.
“The work of Parliament is difficult and challenging, but it is not a dangerous work. This is an institution that is creating a semblance of civility, not danger, so I don’t agree with parliamentarians who say that now they have to get protection.”
In his view, the MPs only want to feel special by having state security attached to them who are only going to be abused because they will be turned into errand boys.
“What they want now…is a soldier man holding a bazooka with another car following them wherever they go, another car they have to fuel, so, which means, they get double petrol vouchers running all over the country, turning on sirens and running around the county saying that this is their security man. And then they will be sending their security man…and they will be sending their security officers all over the way to go and collect bankye [cassava] and plantain and all kinds of things from different places on the grounds, that ‘this is my security officer I have asked him to come for four bunches of bankye [cassava],” he stated.
But a Deputy Minister for the Interior and Member of Parliament for Builsa North in the Upper East Region, James Agalga, is of the view that MPs need some form of security although he admits that will be at a huge cost to the state.
He has called for a national debate on the matter with the leadership of Parliament and other stakeholders.
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