Members of Ghana’s Parliament have rejected allegations that they have been bribed with ZTE mobile phones by a Chinese company.
The Director of the Parliamentary Centre, Rashid Dramani who made the allegations described the situation as a possible conflict of interest situation in which a Chinese company distributed 275 ZTE mobile phones to Members of Parliament.
Mr. Dramani called on Edward Doe Adjaho, Speaker of Parliament to order all the 275 parliamentarians return the phones to be returned to the Chinese company.
It is alleged that the phones distributed to the MPs was to bribe them to approve a contract that would enable ZTE to acquire for the government of Ghana, gadgets for security information for the purposes of monitoring and responding to security emergencies.
But a Ranking Member on the Trade and Industry Committee of Parliament and Member of Parliament for Tema East Daniel Titus-Glover has rejected allegations that the phones were to bribe them.
In an interview with XYZ News, he stated that those cheap phones cannot in anyway influence MPs from not doing due diligence in scrutinizing the deal.
He added that the phones were for security purposes and not any luxury phone that can be used to discuss private issues.
He said those Phones cannot influence any of my colleagues… most of my colleagues are not even using it. They programmed the phone in such a way that MPs can communicate among ourselves on the platform.
“It is not for the luxury of that phone. It's a national security phone. You cannot discuss anything personal on that phone. That phone is cheap. It cannot influence me in any way…I am prepared to take it away. “he said.
But Mr. Vitus Adaboo Azeem, the Executive Secretary of Ghana Integrity Initiative told XYZ News that the issue is a clear case of conflict of interest.
According to him, the MPs must do what is right and return the phones to the Ministry of communication to be returned to the Chinese Company.
