NLA ‘bribery’, shame on Parliament - Ken Agyapong

Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central Constituency in the Central Region, Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, has described as disgraceful for the Finance Committee of the 6th Parliament to have accepted sponsorship from the National Lottery Authority (NLA) to deliberate on the amendment of the National Lottery Act, 2006 (Act 722).

Commenting on the revelation that the Finance Committee of the 6th Parliament took Ghc100,000.00 from NLA before deliberations commenced on the amendment of the National Lottery Act opined that the expose’ has brought shame on Parliament.

“You just look at parliamentarians accepting that they took GHC100,000 from the NLA under NDC government. This is shameful. Shame onto Parliament” the Assin Central MP reiterated.

“I say a big shame. They were not even shy to have accepted GHC 100,000 from National Lottery.” He lamented.

Meanwhile, Ho Central MP, Mr Benjamin Kpodo in a reaction, said the sponsorship package given to the Finance Committee was not bribery; hence there was nothing wrong with such gesture.

According to him, MPs, like other public officers who go for conferences or workshops, are entitled to allowances and per diems; therefore, there cannot be any wrongdoing in the NLA’s decision to sponsor the MPs to undertake the deliberations.

Saying ‘and everybody who travels out of his station to a workshop located outside his workplace for a number of days is given some stipend or per diems’.

“Everybody including drivers who drive their senior officers or groups outside for conferences and workshops are normally paid per diems and even our president who travels abroad, unless he so decides otherwise, is entitled to allowances or per diem, so I don’t see what is scandalous if the NLA organised a workshop and paid allowances to people who participated in the workshop and I am scandalised by the description journalists are giving to such expenditure.” Mr Kpodo lamented bitterly.