There are only 100 ‘serious’ MPs in Ghana - Muntaka

Minority Chief Whip and Member of Parliament (MP) for Asawase, Muntaka Mubarak has stated that not more than a hundred MPs in parliament are really doing the work expected of Members of Parliament.

In a video interview monitored by ABC News Ghana, the MP described as ‘too huge’ the existing number of members representing constituents in Ghana’s Parliament.

“This is a concern for every ordinary Ghanaian because it takes a lot to maintain an MP, all of us know that. Talk about the office, talk about salary, talk about allowances, talk about all the issues around a single MP and as a country, in my view, even the 275 MPs are too many for the job of members of parliament,” he explained in the interview monitored by ABC News Ghana.

Muntaka Mubarak observed that any attempt to increase the numbers any further ought to be resisted since it would be too much cost for too little value for the ordinary Ghanaian.

He insisted that not more than 100 Members in Ghana’s parliament today are truly doing what is expected of them by constituents.

“I’m saying that we don’t have more than hundred MPs that you can put your finger on and say that they are really doing the work of members of parliament,” he said.

He queried the motive for creating slots for even more MPs saying, “what is the yardstick? Why are we just creating just for creating sake? In other jurisdictions where they do it per population, if you want to say that 150,000 population to a member of parliament, even if we are 30 million, then we can do with 200 MPs” he opined.

He again said “Unfortunately, history has proven that all those in government who have created have never benefited from creating it. When president Kufuor created seats, NDC got more of the newly created seats than the NPPs, when the Atta Mills/John Mahama government created, NPP got more seats..so I don’t even know what is driving this creating of new constituencies, when you know you’ll be creating more problems”

The First Deputy Minority Chief Whip in Parliament, Ibrahim Ahmed has meanwhile accused President Akufo-Addo of influencing the Electoral Commission to create some 25 new constituencies ahead of the 2020 elections. Out of the 25 new constituencies, 17, according to the minority, are to be located within strongholds of the governing New Patriotic Party.

But EC Chair, Jean Mensa, during an interaction with journalists in Parliament, denied the allegations and said although the move is on the Commission’s agenda, no decision has yet been taken on the subject matter.