Parliament should deal with long pending petitions

Mr Stephen Ashietey Adjei, a former employee of Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), has asked Parliament to deal with long pending issues before the House.

Speaking at a news conference in Tema, he said the Concerned Youth of Tema, comprising a group of residents in Tema, two years ago, petitioned Parliament to amend the law that gives members of parliament (MPs) security of tenure within an election cycle, to enable the impeachment of non-performing members mid-stream.

He alleged that “upon writing to the Speaker of the August House, not even a whimper has been made by Parliament on the issue”.

Mr Adjei said he feels disappointed that 14 years in the course of fighting for the retrenchment benefits of the ex-workers of GPHA, they have appealed to Parliament a number of times.

“But the August House never even discussed our plight on the floor of parliament,” he alleged.

Mr Adjei said the interest of Ghanaians must be prioritised by Parliament so that Ghanaians could feel that voting is worthwhile.

He also appealed to Mr Kwartei Titus Glover, MP for Tema East, to hold a meeting with the electorate before his tenure of office ends.

He said a durbar to appraise himself with the needs of the people would be necessary.

Mr Adjei noted that past and recent offensive comments by some parliamentarians bothering on ethnicity should have attracted the attention of the Privileges Committee of the House.