Adwoa Safo
Kweku George Ricketts-Hagan, ranking member on the Privileges Committee of Parliament has said he is completely baffled as to why the Executive arm of government has refused to take a decision against Gender Minister Sarah Adwoa Safo after months of abandoning her ministerial duties and staying outside of Ghana.
Speaking on the KeyPoints show on TV3 Saturday, he said, "What baffles me is that; let's take the parliamentary role of Hon. Adwoa Safo out of the whole thing, supposing she was just a Minister appointed by the President; we know in our constitution if you can't do the work resign, fine, but what would have been the procedure at the Executive end in dealing with this matter?"
He continued, "The Executive is silent on this, it's as if now the Executive is waiting for Parliament to bring some finality to this for them to be able to act, and I find it quite baffling."
He added, "So I'm saying if she wasn't a Member of Parliament, what are the laid downs? Because the Executive don't have Privileges Committee or Privileges Ministry, maybe they should think of having one in the future.
He quizzed, "I'm really wondering what's going on at that end, but it's been going on for some time now. I would like to know what sort of excuse leave if any, that the honourable has submitted to the Executive which I'm not privy to?"
Mr. Ricketts-Hagan made these comments on the back of the failure of the embattled Dome-Kwabenya MP to appear before the Privileges Committee of Parliament.
Ms Safo is among three legislators who have been dragged before the Privileges Committee to answer questions about their long absence from the House.
She was summoned through the media after failed attempts to reach her.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Joseph Osei Owusu directed that the summons be published publicly as she had been unreachable.
The Privileges Committee has been tasked by the Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Alban Bagbin, to engage Adwoa Safo, Kennedy Agyapong and Henry Quartey over complaints of chronic absenteeism brought against them.
Meanwhile, Adwoa Safo had explained in a previous interview she granted Joy News, that she was in the United States and had not been served any invitation from the committee.
View her Timepath below:
