The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin has referred three Members of the Parliament (MP) on the Majority side to the Privileges Committee over their continuous absence from Parliament.
The MPs including Kennedy Agyapong, Sarah Adwoa Safo, as well as Henry Quartey are accused of absenting themselves from 15 sittings of Parliament in contravention of the Constitution and the Standing Orders of the House.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin said he is referring the three MPs to the Privileges Committee and expecting a report when the House reconvenes after the Easter break.
“A search on the attendance of the members from the commencement of the 8th Parliament of the 4th Republic was conducted. The results were interesting and reveals that members need to take their attendance to Parliament more seriously.
In the second session and the first meeting of that session, it will be proper to consider the attendance of members within this meeting. The evidence provided me by the table office indicated that three honourable members have so far absented themselves in this meeting for more than 15 sitting days without permission as recorded in the votes and proceedings,” Speaker Alban Bagbin told Parliament.
He continued, “I will proceed to mention the names of the three members. The first is Hon. Sara Adwoa Sarfo, the second is Hon. Henry Quartey and the third is Hon. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong.
“Consequently, as is my understanding of the provision of Article 97 and order 16 of the Standing Orders of Parliament, I hereby refer the said honourable members to the committee of privileges for consideration and report to the house. I expect that the committee will submit its report two weeks after the house reconvenes.”
After the report of the Privileges Committee, there will be a plenary where Members of Parliament will vote on the matter.
In the worst-case scenario, Kennedy Agyapong, Sarah Adwoa Safo, and Henry Quartey could lose their Parliamentary seats.
