Stop Jailed MP's Salary

Two Majority Members of Parliament are seeking to have the payment of salary of the incarcerated MP for Keta, Dan Abodakpi, stopped. The salary of the imprisoned MP is still being paid, which is why his colleagues on the other side of the House are furious and demanding direction, on what they consider to be an anomalous situation, from the First Deputy Speaker, Hon. Freddie Blay, who was in the chair.

The two legislators championing the “Stop Payment of Salaries To Abodakpi” campaign, are Hon. Isaac Kwame Asiamah and Hon. Paul Collins Appiah-Ofori, MPs for Atwima-Mponua and Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa constituencies respectively.This followed the usual reading of the minutes of the previous day’s sitting called, “Votes and Meetings”. Upon completion of the reading of the “Votes and Meetings” for Thursday, July 19, 2007, Hon. Asiamah rose and fired a question about why Dan Abodakpi’s name continued to be included in the list of “Members who were absent with permission” since he went to jail for causing financial loss to the state and defrauding by false pretences.

Some members of the House could not subdue the urge as they burst out laughing with derision.As if by design, Hon. Appiah-Ofori sought to know whether the jailed MP was still drawing his salary and who authorized it.Adding to the unfolding drama was the intervention of Minority Leader Alban Bagbin who explained that his imprisoned colleague’s name remained on the list of MPs absent with permission because he (Abodakpi) had formally sought permission from the leadership of the House.

As the Abodakpi issue appeared to be getting unduly protracted and affecting progress of the House as outlined in the Order Paper, Hon. Blay called for an end to the matter “for us to make progress.”