People's Assembly Questions were prepared - MP

The People’s Assembly idea that swept the capital and regions of the country bringing Government closer to the People has been described as a cosmetic public relations gimmick.

Speaking to the Crusading Guide after the opening of the Second session of the Third Parliament of Ghana’s 4th Republic last Tuesday, Alhaji Mohammad Mumuni MP for Kumbugu Constituency, said that the exclusion of the Minority from the National People’s Parliament undermined the credibility of the exercise.

According to him, “it was quite clear from my perspective that they (People’s Assembly) were staged-managed and some of the questions were actually prepared questions that were planted among the audience”. “I say this because I do not believe that everybody had the opportunity to be there”, Mumuni said particularly referring to the National People’s Assembly, which was chaired by President J.A. Kufuor.

He said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government deliberately sent invitations to the Minority MPs via their pigeon holes in Parliament when Parliament was on recess and most of the MPs were in their constituencies. “Even those of us who were in Accra, we didn’t make it a point to come to our pigeon holes everyday to pick our mails-a lot of us did not get the invitation”, said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP.

He said if the NPP Government had a good intention of including the Minority in the exercise, it would have a better way of inviting them to the event. “I got my invitation a day after the People’s Assembly”, said Mumuni.

He said the NPP deliberately avoided them so they (NPP) would not be put on the carpet by embarrassing questions from the NDC Minority. “The questions that were asked that day were very comfortable questions”, Mumuni said, stressing that, “they were manageable questions deliberately planted”.

Mumuni indicated that the People’s Assembly concept was one of the ploys of the NPP to Government to lend credence to their (NPP) claim of “Positive Change”.

He conceded however that there had been some changes except their effects had not been far- reaching and that the events lined up for the celebration of one year of “positive change” “were basically cosmetic, really some kind of a window-dressing just to indicate that there had been a change”.

However, Squadron Leader Clend Sowu, an ex-MP and an aspiring Chairman of the NDC said the National People’s Assembly chaired by President Kufuor was an example of “Leadership by example”. He said the concept was not a novelty as is being tossed around, pointing out that the First and the Second Parliaments of the Forth Republic held People’s Assemblies.

Sowu said for the concept to have a more positive effect, it should be taken to the grassroots level where unit committees question government authorities at the urban and area council level on government policies, and people at the urban and area council levels also question authorities at the district assembly level.

He said the process should be done in an ascending order till it got to the international level. Sowu said much had been realised in terms of “Positive Change” and that economically Ghanaians still had a long way to go.

The speaker of Parliament, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey opened the Second Session of the Third Parliament of the Forth Republic. He said the past year had been promising and hoped that the new year would follow in the same order.

Mr Alban Bagbin, the Minority Leader in his address, promised that the Minority would lessen, this year, its walkouts, and urged the Majority not to provide the cause for such walkouts. Papa Owusu Ankomah, the Majority leader, promised to assist the Speaker in his effort to ensure that Parliament played its role well and effectively in Ghana’s democratic experiment.