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General News of Tuesday, 23 July 2019

Source: Accra times

Give MPs respect and decorum - MP appeals

MP for Tempane Constituency, Joseph Kpemka MP for Tempane Constituency, Joseph Kpemka

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tempane Constituency in the Upper East Region, Joseph Kpemka has appealed to the general public to see Members of Parliament as fallible and not subject them to undue criticisms or attacks.

He said the MPs were elected to legislate and contribute their quota to the development of the country, rather than being insulted at the least error or fault.

“MP are sometimes taken to the cleaners without provocation, Mr Speaker, this is as a result of the breakdown of indiscipline in our society.

Contributing to a statement on the floor of Parliament, dubbed “The relevance of Parliamentary Acts without Law Enforcement” by Hon Daniel Okyem Aboagye, MP for Bantama, Hon Kpemka said: “In trying to deepen our democracy, law enforcement must be at the core of everything. The very things seen as insignificant are the causes of lack of law enforcement in the country.”

Hon Kpemka therefore called on colleague MPS to desist from aiding citizens to be indisciplined to form a basis for citizens to turn around and bastardise the lawmakers.

“You find people riding motorbikes recklessly, and when they are arrested they call people in high authority, including MPs to come to their aid to talk to these law enforcers to let them go.”

According to the MP, when people are emboldened to act in such a manner knowing very well that the next call would release them from trouble, they would continue to perpetrate acts with impunity, hence call on MPs to rather assist the police to enforce the laws freely without impediments.

Hon Kpemka, who also doubles as the Deputy Minister of Attorney General (AG) and Justice said some times police are given punitive transfers or threatened with such when they fail to heed to the call by people in high authority to aid or overlook unlawful, and acts of indiscipline.

“The laws are enacted by Parliament, and in the course of implementation, the critical reality stare in the face, and when trouble looms as a result of our own conduct, we bemoan it and then forget about it and move forward in like manner,” Hon Kpemka said.