Riding a bicycle to Parliament: Ras Mubarak wants cheap popularity – Naabu

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Yunyoo, Joseph Bipoba Naabu, has described as unfortunate attempt by his by his colleague MP from Kumbungu constituency, Ras Mubarak to ride a bicycle to the Parliament on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, in protest of the high cost of fuel and the hardship economic situation under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

According to the vociferous Yunyoo MP, he is finding it very difficult to believe why Ras Mubarak who owes a V8 Toyota Landcruiser will complain of finding it very difficult buy fuel and suddenly decides to embark on a 17km journey from his house to the lawmaking house.

In his view, the Kumbugu MP just wants cheap popularity, stressing that President Akufo-Addo has no control over fuel prices.

“Ras Mubarak, a Member of Parliament and my colleague on the NDC side – it is unfortunate for his to say he will do that. The situation we find ourselves in Ghana today, I don’t see to the extent that a Member of Parliament will say that life is hard therefore he is using a bicycle to Parliament. He’s been given V8. You see, we should not be politicizing our economic situation in a vacuum. We shouldn’t just be criticizing because we are in opposition and so we should criticize. We should criticize constructively. We should give a very good reason for criticizing so that people who are with us – those people who voted us to power will know that the action and or inaction of the Member of Parliament is in the right direction.

But if Ras Mubarak is saying that the economy is so hard that he is using a bicycle to come to Parliament, it is a cheap popularity that he wants to take and Ghanaians should discard it”, he noted in an interview with kasapafmonline.com.

Ras Mubarak, Monday, told journalists that he would embark on a 17km journey from his house to Parliament where he represents the people of Kumbungu. He said his action is to demonstrate against the government over the hardship economic situation in the country.

“This is a way of sending a signal to government to highlight the plight of the voiceless Ghanaians who are unable to express their frustrations either because they have had to go to work or engage in other activity or the other. As a representative of the people aside legislation, we need to be seen to be voicing out issues that affect the ordinary Ghanaian and for me it is a way to generate attention not to myself but to rise in the cost of living in the country”, he said.

The Kumbugu legislature is expecting to be in Parliament by 9am Tuesday, November 6, 2018.

Naabu commenting further said it was about time politicians learn to know when to criticize constructively, noting that with the deregulation policy on petroleum products, the government has no control over the prices of fuel.

“Let us be frank to ourselves. I have been to India and stayed there for almost two months before I came back last week. The economy of the whole world is hard. In India life is hard but they are managing it. They are the second largest population in the world. In the morning when I wake up and I want to go to the hospital, people foot to the hospitals and their shops. Some are even riding bicycles and okoda. Even people have got bicycles and they carry loads of foodstuffs to go to their markets and or shops to sell. And so if my good friend Ras Mubarak is saying that he is going to ride a bicycle to Parliament it is unfortunate. Is it that he hasn’t got a vehicle or cannot afford a petrol? I am a politician who would not like to criticize unnecessary. This is OPEC. Our price of petrol is being regulated by OPEC – it is not the government. If the world price of crude goes up the price on the local market will automatically go up and when it goes down, it price also goes down. So the government does not have absolute control over the prices of our petroleum product”, he stressed.