Audio By Carbonatix
In principle, I support the call by the Parliamentary Speaker, Edward Doe Adjaho, for the Chairman of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Kwaku Agyeman Manu, to be investigated for allegedly soliciting the sponsorship of a private Internet Technology (IT) firm, RLG, for some members of the House to undertake "an auditing study tour of the Gambia," whatever that is supposed to mean.
Needless to say, this is a patent violation of professional ethics and an open invitation to collaborative corruption between the government and the private sector (See "House Speaker Orders Investigations Into Conduct of PAC Chairman" MyJoyOnline.com 6/27/13). What is strange here, of course, is the fact that the Speaker would sneakily wait for the Public Accounts Committee Chairman to travel outside the country before publicly serving the House his notice concerning an official inquiry. This clearly smacks of Mr. Adjaho's having a personal, perhaps even a vindictive, agenda against the person, rather than the professional and/or legislative conduct, of Mr. Kwaku Agyeman Manu, who is also the New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Dormaa-West.
But I also strongly disagree with Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei, the NPP-MP for Asante Old Tafo, that the Speaker's reliance on a newspaper publication as the inspirational source for his call for the investigation of Mr. Agyeman Manu's conduct as PAC Chairman "sets a bad precedent." Dr. Akoto Osei's condescending attitude towards the Ghanaian media is precisely what is wrong with the Ghanaian politician and parliamentarian. It goes without saying that the media is about the only credible means by which the overwhelming majority of responsible and law-abiding citizens learn about what goes on in our National Assembly, particularly vis-a-vis the way and manner in which our publicly-sponsored representatives conduct business on behalf of the constituents and electors on a daily basis.
In other words, MPs like Dr. Akoto Osei have absolutely no moral justification, whatsoever, to feel superior to our media watchdogs, the very people who alert the ordinary citizen as to how their interests are being served on both the national and global levels.
Paradoxically, though, I also agree with the Old Tafo NPP-MP that Mr. Adjaho may well be engaging in a selective application of protocol. In brief, if, as Dr. Akoto Osei claims, several unflattering newspaper reports about conduct unbecoming of honorable members of the House have been routinely ignored by the Speaker, then it is about time that Mr. Adjaho back-tracked, or retroactively reviewed those other questionable cases, if his own credibility as Speaker of the House is to be positively envisaged.
On the whole, I don't see any fundamental differences between the conduct of MPs of the two major political parties. And so what is clearly needed here is for all members of the House to periodically undergo professional ethics training in order to help them conduct the people's business with the highest level of patriotism.
Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr., Ph.D.
Department of English
Nassau Community College of SUNY
Garden City, New York
July 4, 2013
E-mail: okoampaahoofe@optimum.net
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
-
Why Ghana’s Constitution Review Committee’s Work Should Be Extended to Strategic Communication
2 minutes -
Prof. Prempeh defends lowering presidential age, cites Kufuor’s early leadership roles
19 minutes -
Presidential Age Limit: Unrestricted democracy could breed chaos – Prof. Agyeman-Duah warns
29 minutes -
MP Baffour Awuah advocates for legal framework on presidential continuity, not term extension
33 minutes -
Ghanaians entitled to propose constitutional changes – Charlotte Osei
36 minutes -
At 30, you lack the experience to be a President – Prof Agyeman-Duah
40 minutes -
One-year extension of presidential term unnecessary – Baffuor Awuah
45 minutes -
Sam George lauds coordinated crackdown on cybercrime in Tabora and Lashibi
51 minutes -
100 arrested in Accra’s Tabora in major Mobile Money fraud crackdown
55 minutes -
BOG put GH¢4.69bn into gold-for-oil, lost over GH¢2.1bn with no impact — Audits show
1 hour -
CRC opted for broader reforms over abolishing ex-gratia – Charlotte Osei
2 hours -
Mahama’s record shows four-year presidential term is sufficient – Inusah Fuseini
2 hours -
Four-year term enough for accountability – Inusah Fuseini
2 hours -
CRC Proposals: We were very mindful not to create problems while solving existing ones – Charlotte Osei
2 hours -
Ebo Noah’s ‘faith’ or Climate Change: Rains on Christmas eve and day in Ghana?
2 hours
