The Member of Parliament for the Ningo Prampram constituency in the Greater Accra Region, Samuel Nartey George believes the leadership of Parliament should be blamed for the unending attacks on Members of Parliament (MPs).
According to him, the leadership of the House has failed to demand protection for MPs.
“We think that the Ghanaian people whose voice and aspirations are made known through the Members of Parliament should foot the bill for the protection of the Executive yet those who represent the Ghanaian people should not and cannot be given protection when our work puts us against the might of the State and private interests.”
“The cost to the taxpayer when an MP dies is huge; by the state conducting a bye-election and the cost to political parties…I believe that Parliament itself is to blame for this problem from the Speaker of Parliament to the Majority Leader to the Minority Leader because Parliament has failed to do what is right. We have it within our mandate and our power to ensure that MPs are protected, but we failed,” he said.
He proceeded to list a number of attacks some MPs have suffered for which the leadership of Parliament has failed to act.
He mentioned himself in the infamous Ayawaso bye-election, the Minister for Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr. Akoto-Osei and the Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mr Ato Pamford.
“There is a growing perception that it is okay to attack an MP and you will go free. It happened to me in Ayawaso West Wuogon and from the Speaker of Parliament to the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader, they were all deaf and dumb. They were all quiet about that attack when Parliament could on its own establish its might using its privileges but because it was Sam George [nothing happened].”
“People are emboldened to think that you can attack an MP and it is fine, it is the culture and you are the guy in your community. That is the culture Parliament itself by its inactions has caused and this is simply because the leadership of Parliament gets police protection. They are treated differently from the rest of us. Mr. Speaker drives in a convoy of about three-four vehicles with heavy police protection and the two leaders have police protection so what affects the rest of us does not affect them. If it affected them, they would have done something about it. If Parliament decided that we will approve the appropriation bill without that of the Ministry of Interior which controls the Ghana Police Service, they would provide us with security.”
Mr. Sam George made the comments on The Big Issue on Citi TV on the back of the gruesome killing of the Mfantseman MP, Ekow Quansah Hayford.
The late MP was allegedly shot on the Abeadze Dominase–Abeadze Duadzi–Mankessim road by some unknown assailants believed to be on a robbery spree on Friday, October 9, 2020.
