Parliamentarians lack decorative ideas - Fishermen

The clamour for the Rt. Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, to be iconized for his invaluable contribution to parliamentary democracy in the Fourth Republic is continuing with proponents now putting heat on MPs for their lack of push for the recognition to happen.

Last week, a group of farmers in the Western Region had called on Parliament to do the needful, suggesting that an office or block in Parliament be named after the Speaker.

However, there has since been a lack of answer from Parliament which has sparked anger among a group of fishermen in Greater Accra who are accusing the MPs of being bereft of simple creative ideas that can be used to properly iconize Bagbin and also refusing to take one that has been freely proffered.

“The MPs are behaving like Konongo kaya; they cannot come up with creative ideas in this matter and yet when suggestions are given to them too, they ignore them,” lamented Mr. Wisdom Dzakadzi, a fisherman based in Tema who is also the spokesperson of the group of fishermen, and has worked with 608 and Awoya 7 Fishing boats for several years.

According to him, “This same type of behaviour is what has led to them not being able to come up with very good ideas that can improve life in their various constituencies.”

The complaint comes less than a week after a group of farmers in the Western Region re-ignited the clamour for Bagbin to be iconized for his contribution as the longest-serving parliamentarian in the history of the country.

These western farmers had, in a statement reiterated lament that Bagbin has not been nationally recognized for his service even though he is the longest-serving parliamentarian, and arguably the most respected parliamentarian ever, who is more deserving of an award than many of the people who have received national awards in the past.

The group then went on to suggest that if the lack of recognition is due to a deficit of ideas, then Parliament itself should consider naming a block or hall in Parliament after the Speaker.

Less than one week after that call, no response has been given to the suggestion of the farmers leading to another spark of anger among the fishers in Tema.

“From where we sit, it is easy to see that as usual, the new suggestion is being ignored, but we want the authorities to know that when we call for Hon. Bagbin to be iconized we are serious. Again we want the MPs to know that if they lack ideas we can give them some.” Wisdom Dzakadzi said.

On his part, Mr. E.A Adjetey, another fisherman commended the Speaker for his concern for fishers, especially in respect of the challenges that fraught the distribution of premix fuel to them.

“The reasons that we keep calling for the recognition of Bagbin is because of how he has impacted many sectors, even though so far he has been a career parliamentarian.”

He added that parliament must take charge of the clamour for Rt. Hon. ASK Bagbin to be awarded a national honour by saying that, “This is one of your own!.”