Alban Bagbin, Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament
The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has cautioned the public to be wary of negative criticisms and attacks on Members of Parliament (MPs) over the proposed new parliamentary chamber, has dire consequences on the country.
He noted that the negative criticisms on the project and the sheer attacks on MPs had dire consequences for the nation and urged the citizenry to desist from such bad conduct.
“What is happening now is eroding the pillar of democracy which is parliament, we should be courteous, careful and cautious about how we talk about Members of Parliament and Parliament as an institution, and members will not contribute to negativity”, Mr Bagbin, who is also the MP for Nadowli/Kaleo constituency in the Upper West Region noted.
He cautioned when commenting on the proposed 450 capacity chamber block while presiding over a sitting which was in response to Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, the MP for South Dayi, who contributed to a statement made by Reverend Ntim Fordjour, the MP for Assin South in the Central Region, on the chamber of Canada’s Parliament which he described as smaller than that of Ghana even though it has larger capacity to contain more legislators.
An interjection by the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, provoked Mr Bagbin to set the records straight since he together with Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader had operated in the Chamber of the Parliament of Canada before.
“I have operated in that Chamber with Majority Leader, we have moved motions on floor of that chamber, we know where the chamber is situated, we know the size of the chamber, we know why it is in that shape, there is history to everything, you wait when they present issue for debate, I’m sure it will be done on the floor.
“Because many things are done outside knowledge of Members of Parliament, Majority Leader has assured me it is going to be discussed and will be brought up for debate, decision will be taken by the House.
“Even the earlier issue about purchase of the furniture, particularly, precedes for this chamber was not a decision by Members of Parliament and the House, the public should move away from blaming and castigating members, as if the furniture they are using in their workplaces were ordered and paid for by themselves, it is not the duty of Members of Parliament to do that, it is our duty to educate and sensitise the citizenry on these matters,” Mr Bagbin lamented.
