Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Parliamentary Affairs, Dr Rasheed Dramani, has called for a clear process to investigate and resolve corruption allegations involving Members of Parliament.

He says Parliament must demonstrate that allegations against its members can move from investigation to a definite outcome.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, Dr Dramani said he hopes Parliament will treat the latest allegations seriously.

“I am going to hope that this time around Parliament will take this very seriously,” he said.

His comments follow allegations involving Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin and GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi.

Mr Gyamfi accused Mr Afenyo-Markin of being an “extortionist” in a public dispute. Mr Afenyo-Markin rejected the allegation and threatened legal action.

The dispute later escalated into a legal confrontation, while the Office of the Special Prosecutor began a preliminary assessment to determine whether to open a full-scale investigation.

For Dr Dramani, the concern extends beyond Mr Afenyo-Markin.

“And for me, when this issue broke out, I was very worried not about Afenyo-Markin, but, as Inusah Fuseini said, about that office, particularly at a time when we have a supermajority parliament,” he said.

“We need leaders with integrity. We need a minority with a very high level of integrity to be able to hold this supermajority and the executive accountable.”

Dr Dramani said his concern deepened after reflecting on public trust in Parliament and the persistent perception of corruption.

He identified partisan solidarity as one of the factors contributing to the problem.

“I think the first one is that over the years we have seen in our parliament that partisan solidarity overrides accountability,” he said.

“So you accuse one person, then an entire caucus begins to rally around that person without even asking the critical question.”

He also questioned whether Parliament applies the same scrutiny to itself that it applies to the Executive.

“I think over the years I have noted that Parliament is better at scrutinising the executive than having the moral authority to scrutinise itself,” he said.

Dr Dramani cited the work of the Public Accounts Committee as an example of Parliament’s scrutiny of government institutions.

“In 2024 alone, it held about 31 public hearings and more than 1000 recommendations for recovery of resources and so on,” he said.

“Does it apply the same kind of standard to itself whenever we hear some of these issues?”

He said political considerations can also make it difficult for Parliament to investigate its own members.

“The political cost of, you know, investigating themselves, their own, is usually very high, and they would rather keep quiet because over the years they build relationships; current MPs are future ministers, and all the kind of networks and so on,” he stated.

Dr Dramani said the absence of clear outcomes from past allegations has contributed to public mistrust.

“What Parliament hasn’t done for itself over the years is that we haven’t seen a clear path of allegation to resolution,” he said.

He wants that to change with the current matter.

“I am hoping, Evans, that maybe for the first time we would have a committee that is made up not only of MPs.”

He suggested bringing respected Ghanaians into any parliamentary committee established to examine the allegations.

“Maybe a committee of parliament that is made up of MPs and some eminent Ghanaians, so that for the first time, and in the interest of Parliament itself, in order to improve its image in the eyes of the public, that this matter is dealt with.”

Dr Dramani said the process must ultimately produce a clear outcome.

“So that we see a clear path from this allegation to a clear resolution, and if there are sanctions, let them be applied; if there are exonerations, let those happen.”