Speaker angry as less than 30 MPs report to parliament

The Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye, has expressed his displeasure with the lateness of MPs to the house as less than 30 out of the 275 members were present as of the start of business on Thursday, 21 March 2019.

According to Prof Oquaye, the lateness and absenteeism do not send a good signal to the public about the seriousness of members toward the execution of their duties.

“In a way, we have an appointment with the good people of Ghana, particularly the young ones who come to listen to their parliament,” he said, adding: “I will pray that we take this obligation seriously. If we take our nation seriously, we will take this obligation seriously”.

This will not be the first time that the leadership of parliament has raised issues about MP absenteeism.

The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joe Osei-Owusu, recently admonished MPs to attach seriousness to their work and be actively involved in the business of the house.

Odekro, a civil society organisation focused on activities of the legislature, reported not too long ago that 54 MPs exceeded the number of times a legislator could be absent without permission at the third sitting of the house in 2018.