Audio By Carbonatix
Some Members of Parliament are on a collision course with Speaker Edward Doe Adjaho over his decision to form a committee to draft a code of conduct for the House.
The move to regulate the conduct of parliamentarians comes on the heels of alleged conflict of interest involving the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Kwaku Agyeman Manu.
The Speaker last week ordered an inquiry into the conduct of Mr. Agyeman Manu following his letter to local ICT firm, Rlg, asking for sponsorship for a trip.
The Speaker on Thursday took the issue a step further, constituting a committee to formulate a code of conduct to regulate the behavior of members of parliament.
Joy News Parliamentary correspondent, Elton Brobbey reports, the code of conduct will among others, reinforce privileges and state clear guidelines on how the public should relate to the MPs.
This decision however upset some of the MPs, led by member for Adansi Asokwa constituency of Ashanti Region; Kwaku Tahir Hammond who fiercely resisted the move.
“Look at us, we are not babies…Why should we now form an ad hoc committee to go out there to now propose regulations to bind us on how to speak outside? Is it suggested that we don’t know how to speak outside?” K.T Hammond charged.
His colleague for Sekondi, Papa Owusu Ankomah saw nothing wrong with the formation of the committee to draft code of conduct for the House.
Papa Owusu Ankomah, who is Vice Chairperson for the committee disclosed to Evans Mensah on Newsnight that, "the issue of having a code of conduct the for House had been on the table for some time now" including his days as Majority Leader.
He said however, it will be the decision of the House to either or not, make the code of conduct binding on the MPs.
Nonetheless, the Executive Director of the African Parliamentarians' Network Against Corruption, Daniel Batidam has welcome the development.
Mr. Batidam said the code of conduct is long overdue for Ghana’s Parliament, which has been in existence for over 20 years.
He expressed surprise that “MPs who belong to the institution that makes laws for the nation, will complain about rules about their conduct”.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
Starting a business in Ghana as a young man is tough – HR practitioner
52 seconds -
Nkrumah’s policies should inform Ghana’s development — UG African Studies Director
4 minutes -
Ghana Evangelical Missions Association urges Christian leaders to preach against galamsey and intensify advocacy
11 minutes -
Buipe Hausa Festival: National President Tafida calls for vigilance, unity, and youth reform
13 minutes -
Government urges domestic airlines to reduce airfares after duty exemptions
15 minutes -
Beyond vehicle age: Why Ghana needs a smarter vehicle import policy
36 minutes -
Are we marketing Ghana before fixing the experience? A hard question for our tourism ambition
40 minutes -
AFCON 2027Q: Prince Adu Kwabena major doubt for Ghana after head injury
42 minutes -
Government to procure furniture to help more SHSs move from double-track — Haruna Iddrisu
48 minutes -
Adutwum spokesperson alleges ‘turf war’ between Education Ministry and GES over Free SHS
50 minutes -
Black Stars: Adu Kwabena a doubt for September-October games after head injury
1 hour -
Fire guts four-bedroom apartment at Millennium City
1 hour -
KMA seeks funding to restart stalled Kumasi Central Market Phase II project
1 hour -
Government unveils new guidelines to improve regulation of non-profit organisations
1 hour -
Annoh-Dompreh cautions against partisan application of law in political speech cases
2 hours