'We’re fallible, don’t criticise us unduly’ - MP

Joseph Kpemka, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tempane Constituency, in the Upper East Region, has appealed to the citizenry to realise Members of Parliament as fallible and not subject them to undue criticisms and attacks.

“MPs are elected to legislate and contribute their quota to the growth and development of the country, rather than being insulted, criticised and attacked at the least error or fault, and sometimes taken to the cleaners without provocation, as a result of the breakdown of discipline in our society.”

Contributing to a statement titled ‘The relevance of Parliamentary Acts without Law Enforcement’ in Parliament, by Daniel Aboagye, MP for Bantama in the Ashanti Region, Mr Kpemka, the Deputy Attorney General, insisted that law enforcement was fundamental to democratic governance and accelerated national growth and development.

“In trying to deepen our democracy, law enforcement must be at the core of everything, things seen as insignificant are the causes of lack of law enforcement, we must desist from aiding the citizenry to be indisciplined, it often becomes basis for them to turn around and bastardise the legislator.

“You find people riding motorbikes recklessly, when arrested, call people in high authority, including MPs to come to their aid, talk to law enforcers to let them go scot free, when people are emboldened to act in such manner, knowing the next call will release them from trouble, continue to perpetrate acts with impunity,” Mr Kpemka bemoaned.

He regretted the situation where law enforcement agents are sometimes given punitive transfers or threatened when they failed to heed calls by high authority to aid or overlook unlawful acts, saying, “Laws are enacted by parliament, in course of implementation, critical reality stare in the face, trouble looms as result of own conduct, we lament, forget about it and move forward.”

Mr Sam Nartey George, MP for Ningo Prampram, observed that Parliament remained a fulcrum and bastion of democracy because it is representation of the people, and pointed out that parliamentarians had a responsibility to protect the institution.

Mr Aboagye, in the statement, called on parliamentarians to support law enforcement agencies to discharge their duties professionally because law enforcement institutions are creation of parliament, and must be seen as aiding law enforcement which enhance work and image of the House.