A Governance Expert, Mr Kojo Asante, has attributed Parliament's sinking image to the inability of political parties to conduct thorough vetting of prospective MPs. Mr Asante, who is the Head of Legal and Governance at the Centre for Democratic Development, said the situation raises concern about the calibre of people who would constitute the legislature in the future. He was speaking on Joy FM’s current affairs programme, Front Page on the implications of various allegations of fraud against some sitting MPs. Former NPP MP for Nkoranza North, Eric Amoateng is being held in the US for alleged narcotic offences, police here are investigating the NDC MP for Sene, Felix Twumasi Appiah's alleged involvement in fake drug transaction and prosecutors in the US have declared the NPP MP for Upper-Denkyira East, Nana Amoako wanted for alleged one million dollar theft. Mr. Asante said serious background checks must be done on those who seek to enter Parliament. “The parties have great responsibilities but there really is no capacity for them to do that extensive due diligence especially for the background of those living or who have lived in abroad for many year,” he said. Two MPs who were on the program attribute the increasing level of fraud in the legislature to monetization of Ghanaian politics. MP for Bole Bamboi and Minority Spokesman on Foreign Affairs, Mr John Mahama said campaigning to be elected MP has become so expensive there is the tendency for people to want to recoup the large sums of money they put in. “It is increasingly becoming very expensive to run an election. And so you are in Parliament working and anytime there is primaries people descend from Iceland and others…melt their dollars and really give you a stiffer race down here. If they unseat you, naturally there is the tendency as human being to recoup whatever expenses they have made,” he noted. Majority Chief Whip, Mr Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said the constitutional provision that binds the president to choose majority of his ministers from Parliament provides enough motivation for people to put in a fortune to get elected into the legislature with the hope that they will get ministerial appointments. He proposed that Parliament takes a second look at the law in the attempt to deal with the problem. “Parliament must sit down and come to some consensus on this… In my view it must be limited to ministers and not include deputy ministers.”