Resource Parliament Adequately - MP

HON. OSEI Kyei Mensah-Bonsu (MP, Old Tafo Suame) has suggested that Parliament must be adequately resourced to perform its constitutional role for democracy to thrive.

He said as an arm of government, Parliament, like the other arms, must enjoy all the pre-requisites of the office and not discriminated against.

It is time the nation takes a concrete decision on whether or not Parliament must be resourced.

"It is either resourced or left in limbo", he stated.

"If Parliament is to attract the best brains then it should be provided with the requisite tools to discharge its duties in order not to become a mere appendage of the Executive," the MP noted at a public forum at Kronum in his constituency.

According to him, office accommodation, library, research assistants, residential accommodation and a vehicle are some of the basic tools an MP needs to function efficiently.

The MP lamented that Parliament had, in the past, been regarded as the cause of national woes because of the coups d'etat following which Parliament had always been proscribed and vilified.

Mensah-Bonsu, who is also deputy Majority Chief whip said MPs, like judges, were entitled to vehicles and other incentives and must be accorded the respect that goes with the office.

He disclosed that government, following an inventory, is to import about 4,000 vehicles to revamp the system.

"Out of this, Mensah-Bonsu stated further that "only 200 are due MPs."

In the face of the economy and out of patriotism, MPs, according to Mensah-Bonsu have decided to make sacrifices by not pressing or insisting on their rights.

"We have decided to contract loans to procure vehicles.

Therefore, the $20,000 is not for free", he said. In an obvious defence of the furore over the proposed $20,000 for cars for MPs, the Deputy Majority Chief Whip said the media report on the issue was misleading.

According to him, the $20,000 was the ceiling considering prices in 1997.

The figure, he said, represented the total cost including taxes.