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General News of Friday, 14 July 2017

Source: kasapafmonline.com

Parliament is biased in dealing with contempt – Muntaka

Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, Minority Chief Whip Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, Minority Chief Whip

Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka has conceded that Parliament is biased in disciplining persons whose conduct affronts the dignity of the House of Legislature.

According to him, Parliament tends to protect its own when an MP is deemed or found to have acted in contempt of the law making body, but explained that when it comes to MPs “sometimes it is very difficult to get someone to send you the evidence.”

He was reacting to concerns by a section of the public who accuse Parliament of being so quick in wanting to punish others who make contemptous statement about it, but always spares its members who engage in similar contemptous acts.

A financial analyst and member of pressure group OcuppyGhana, Sydney Casely-Hayford may possibly be halued before the Privileges Committee of Parliament for his contemptuous statement, in the coming days.

Mr Casely-Hayford had said the following about the current and past MPs:

(1) “These people are sitting there, spending money like crazy, making stupid decisions and passing stupid laws…”

(2) “All they think of is ‘let’s pass this thing quickly, let’s go to Senchi Royal, let’s go and sit there and chill and come back…’”

(3) “They don’t read the papers that they are given, they don’t think through what the challenges are…”

(4) “The first thing I will do if I had the opportunity is to break down parliament…”

Speaking to Joy FM Friday, Hon. Muntaka Mubarak strongly condemned Mr Casely Hayford’s utterances.

“We expect positive criticism but we are never going to accept condemnation where you just use harsh words like stupid for your representative. What kind of behaviour is this?”

“We pass stupid laws for which people? We are a reflection of the people and to denigrate the house, you yourself you will be denigrating yourself because you queue to go and elect them,” he said.

The MP for Asawase however said Parliament must do well to clear the perception of selectivity.

“If an MP goes to insult and say other things that are contemptuous it is the responsibility of the House to be able to deal with its member because we need to be able to deal with our own so that we will hve the moral courage to deal with others. I want to encourage the general public, if an MP is doing anything that you think is an affront to us, please talk to us, give us the audio”