The Elective of Parliamentarians

An MP is one chosen by his or her constituents to represent them in the House of Parliament.

In Ghana, the role of an MP (Member of Parliament) is multifaceted, representation of constituents, encompassing legislative duties and oversight of government actions. MPs are responsible for scrutinizing legislation, participating in debates, questioning ministers, and enacting or amending laws. Additionally, MPs serve as a link between the government and their constituents, addressing their concerns and advocating for their needs.

There is nothing under the role and responsibilities of an MP that states that he must be in charge of the development of the constituency. But unfortunately, constituents evaluate the performance of an MP based on developments. By this standard, many good MPs lose their seats because they were accused of doing nothing for their constituencies.

One of the responsibilities of the MPs is to hold government accountable for its actions. This is mainly demonstrated by those in the opposition, or better still, the MPs whose party is not the ruling party. This can generate very hot debates on the floor and in the end the minority will have their say while the majority, their way.

The original terms of reference mandates that MPs are to sit in and debate the issues, and when the matters are put to vote, those against may either vote against or abstain.

The MPs could however also walk out of the chamber before votes are taken as a sign of protest.

Then suddenly an elective was added to include taking a hike downtown, right to the city center to have a first-hand view of what happens in town during the day. They look at the hawkers, the commercial drivers, passengers struggling to board taxis and buses, traders plying their trade in the hot sun and people just hanging around doing everything to make people believe that they, govern the town.

So, during this walk, MPs from rural constituencies become so fascinated and have lots of stories to tell their constituents back home.

The MPs hike into town, leaving behind their constitutional responsibility to sit in the chamber and deal with matters that affect the people of this country, and they call it their right.

The other day, during the previous administration, the opposition NDC MPs did not understand why and how their own, an honourable gentleman, very handsome with a face like a dadaba, should be arraigned before court on the suspicion that he stole money. So, they boycotted Parliament and walked down to the courts and occupied all the seats in the court room where the case was heard, that even most lawyers had to stand. How dare, government drag Hon. Ato Forson to court?

If President Nana Akufo Addo wants to catch thieves, why did he not go to the wee infested areas of the capital and he will find plenty of such characters to catch. No, it cannot be so, for as long as Wofa Ato was in court then government business must be on suspension. And they justified the reason why, because some tape was aired on the matter from blue tooth or pen drive. As a new innovation, they believed government was up to something fishy.

Then recently, the mighty minority NPP MPs, the minority that could shout down the majority, clearly demonstrated that in life the powerful killers are not the giant predators, but the minute and unseen bugs that can attack and kill without being noticed.

When news came out that the NPP Ashanti regional chairman was bundled to the offices of the state security agency, to take time off his busy schedules in Kumasi and come and relax in Accra small and see first hand how the sea looks like, the minority NPP MPs did not understand. Chairman Wontumi was or is the governor of Ashanti and he is so rich that he can build an artificial lake in Ashanti and fill it with sea water and make the surroundings look like a beach.

The minority NPP MPs asked permission which was more of a demand that cannot be declined and walked bare footed to the state security agency. After that long walk in the hot sun, they finally arrived at the office and out of tiredness they decided to sit down, since the state security agency had no seats available.

Now, surprisingly, people are condemning the NPP MPs for sitting on the ground. Whatever is wrong with that? In our culture sitting down and especially dragging your bums on the ground is a sign of protest and even a curse if the protestor is a naked woman.

In my opinion, the MPs are free to add electives to their terms of reference and we shall see how things will go. Maybe, sooner than later, our protesting MPs will start climbing trees or march into the Osu cemetery and wake up the silent majority with singing of protest songs in cacophony.

Ghanaians must not condemn any MP for such non-violent shows of protest. If some decide to take over the courts and others decide to block the roads by sitting in the middle of the road, the value is the same. No matter how we look at things, they are the only honourable people we have in our constituencies and had to present them to the nation and the world. Thank You!

Hon. Daniel Dugan

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Chronicle’s stance.

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