The Speaker of Parliament Alban S.K Bagbin has vowed to push to stop President Akufo-Addo from appointing Members of Parliament (MPs) to serve on boards of government institutions as and when he pleases.
Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected executives of the Parliamentary Press Corps on Monday, April 4, 2022, the Speaker stressed that he will not sit for the President to “dictate and co-opt everybody.”
“In Parliament today the governing party always has a lot of the members bought by the executive through patronage. They are made chairs of boards, members of boards, chief executives of some institutions, and they are Members of Parliament.
“So how can you criticize the same things that you are involved in doing. That is political patronage and we are going to look critically into our provisions to make sure that we don’t allow these to continue. It’s not part of the concept that we have in the 1992 Constitution,” Speaker Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin shared.
According to him, the practice where MPs sometimes have to leave Parliament to attend board meetings is unhealthy and not helpful to the country’s democracy.
“I am not under that pressure and I can sail my own boat and I intend to do that. Before anybody is given appointment, the Speaker must give that certificate. It is not just for the president to sit down and dictate and co-opt everybody and leave Parliament with only the Minority to rather be critical of government’s actions and inaction.
“That is not helpful to our democracy and we have to crack the whip on this matter. ‘M’akaa m’aka,” Speaker Bagbin stressed.
