Minority Spokesperson on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Joe Osei Owusu, wants all political parties to as matter of urgency insulate experienced Members of Parliament (MPs) from leaving the house.
[contextly_sidebar id=”40pVCDuLADe4Zdz9d7YrVcint2PAkBox”]Long serving legislators like E.T Mensah, Joe Gidisu and Dr. Mustapha Ahmed’s failure to retain the NDC’s ticket, has reignited the debate on the impact of experienced MPs to the work of Parliament.
During the New Patriotic Party (NPP) primaries, about 24 incumbent Members of Parliament also lost the bid to contest for the party in the next election.
Speaking in an interview with Citi News, the Bekwai MP insisted that the attrition rate of competent MPs is dangerous for the development of Ghana’s parliamentary democracy.
“Experience counts a lot but I think by and large, the parties should reach a consensus as to how they want the Chamber of Parliament to look at any point in time. If the parties could agree on some consensus, at least, new fresh links are important. As much as possible, we should avoid having this wholesale change needless of who is coming and what the person is bringing in” he argued.
He added “Each of the parties have experienced this; the rate of attrition, if I had anyway of retaining W.A Boafo in Parliament I will do it. Everyone will tell you when it comes to legislating, drafting and scrutinizing bills when it comes on the floor of the House, but the people of Akropong don’t consider that. As far as they are concerned, there are priorities on the ground.”
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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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