Police Guard For MPs Must Be Backed By Law - Manhyia North MP
The Vice-Chairman of the Committee of Defense and Interior in Parliament, Hon. Collins Owusu Amankwah says the decision of the Interior Minister, Hon, Ambrose Dery to provide police bodyguard to all Members of Parliament (MPs) should not be a gentlemanly agreement.
The Ministry of Interior has agreed to provide Members of Parliament with police bodyguards.
In the interim, 200 police personnel have been detailed to provide personal security for 200 MPs. This is because some MPs who are already Ministers of State already have police bodyguards.
The Minister of Interior, Mr. Ambrose Dery made this known when he briefed Parliament on Tuesday, October 13, 2020.
The Member of Parliament for Manhyia North has suggested to the Minister of Interior and Parliament to move the decision beyond convention and make it a law so that the Parliamentarians who form the second arm of government can also benefit from the police protection that the Executive and the Judiciary are enjoying as enshrined in the law.
“When it comes to the governance system of the country, we have three Arms of Government and we are talking about the second arm of government which is the Legislature. When you mention the name of the MP, you are talking about the thousands of people he represents in Parliament and so those who benefit most are the people in the constituency”.
“What we are asking is that, just as in the arrangement of the law, certain measures are put in place for the Executive Arm of Government where the deputy ministers and ministers are entitled to police bodyguards and the Judiciary being another Arms of Government, also enjoying police protection, the same thing must be done for the Legislature being the Parliamentarians,” he added.
Speaking on Okay FM’s 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, Hon. Owusu Amankwah said that even though the decision of the Interior Minister and the Akufo-Addo government is commendable, it should not remain a convention but must be backed by the law so that all the 275 MPs representing the entire country will be entitled to a police officer or a military officer for protection.
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