Reaction of Ghanaians to new parliamentary chamber was heart breaking – Hackman Owusu Agyemang

Former MP for New Juabeng North and member of NPP Council of Elders, Hackman Owusu-Agyeman has described the reactions which followed the proposition of a $200 million new parliamentary chamber as heart breaking.

After over a year since Ghanaians vehemently rejected the idea of the new parliamentary chamber, the renowned state man insists that it was indeed a laudable project which would have facilitated the work of legislators.

According to him, parliament is a tenant of state protocol yet does not own any property in its name.

Speaking in an interaction with JoyNews he argued that just as the state facilitated the construction of new court complexes, the same was needed for the work of legislators who at the moment do not have any properties.

“It was necessary to build a better place just like we built a new place for the courts. Parliament is a tenant of the state protocol. We do not own a single property,” he told JoyNews.

He also argued that government lost touch with the Ghanaian people in its attempt to communicate the necessity and details of the project.

“It was heart breaking in seeing the reaction of Ghanaians. The PR was not well handled and the views of the people were not sought,” he said.

In June 2019, the Parliamentary Service Board received an architectural impression of a proposed $200 million new parliamentary chamber. The proposed edifice was supposed to be a 450-seater chamber will come with a chapel, mosque, restaurant, and a museum.

But the initiative was shot down by a large section of Ghanaians who started a social media campaign, #DropThatChamber, to disrupt the commencement of the project.

Eventually, leadership of parliament suspended the project.