New chamber: Parliamentary board has not been fair to MPs – Ablakwa

Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is unhappy about the parliamentary board’s failure to give them prior information about issues regarding the controversial 450-seater chamber.

According to him, Members of Parliament ought to have been briefed so they have adequate knowledge to be able to respond to questions that may be raised by their constituents on the issue regardless of the fact that an agreement has not yet been reached.

Irrespective of his fixed stance against the construction of the chamber; the fact that it’s not a priority and should be shelved, he insisted that the parliamentary service board should have engaged them for opinions regarding the project.

Samuel Okudzeto Ablwaka , in an interview with the media said;

“I’m demanding that parliament we (MPs) are briefed as members of parliament. The parliamentary service board acts in our name and this project has been put out there to suggest that Members of Parliament will work in improved conditions and can deliver better, so all of this is been done in our name. Good governance dictates that the people, the board, purport to be acting in their interest should be in the known.” “We should be fully briefed and apprised of what this project is about. If our constituents ask us what is the cost, what are the design, what are the specification? And all of this question, we don’t have answers to them. There have been no discussions on this project and for that matter no agreement”

“The parliamentary service board has not been fair to us and all of this bashing and attacks that Member of Parliament have been subjected to is most unfair” he added

Meanwhile the Minority Leader has stated that members of parliament will be briefed on the matter on Tuesday July 5 2019.

Background

Ghanaians have criticised plans to construct a new 450-chamber for Ghana’s legislator on various social media platforms.

The decision to build a new chamber estimated to cost $200 million has been met with intense opposition from Ghanaians as well as civil society groups.

Some lawmakers, especially from the Minority side, like the MP for North Tongu, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa; Ras Mubarak, MP for Kumbungu; and Tamale North MP Alhassan Suhuyini, have described the move as needless.

Also, some lawmakers from the Majority side, including Samuel Ayeh-Paye, Ayensuano; and Mr Patrick Boamah, Okaikwei Central, have also said a new chamber is not necessary for now.

However, the Majority Leader of Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has been justifying the need for a new chamber.