Former Tamale Central MP, Inusah Fuseini, has called for serious attention to allegations of extortion involving MPs, saying the concerns go beyond individual politicians and could undermine public trust in Ghana’s democracy.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, the Lands Minister said allegations that elected representatives are using their positions for personal gain should not be dismissed as political attacks.

He was commenting in the wake of allegations made by Sammy Gyamfi, the Acting CEO of the Ghana Gold Board, against Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin.

Mr Afenyo-Markin strongly rejected the allegation and subsequently threatened legal action against Mr Gyamfi.

The matter later escalated into a legal and political dispute, with Mr Afenyo-Markin filing a defamation suit against Mr Gyamfi.

Against that backdrop, Mr Fuseini said the concerns raised about the conduct of lawmakers must be examined in the broader context of public trust in Parliament.

He said Ghana has entrusted 276 Members of Parliament with significant responsibilities, including overseeing public resources and passing laws.

“We have over 30 million people in this country; 276 have been privileged that, in between the four-year terms, they take decisions on our behalf because we have trusted them to do so,” he said.

Mr Fuseini warned that public confidence would suffer if lawmakers were perceived as using their positions for personal gain.

“So when the public begins seeing that these 276 persons that we have given the mandate to represent us and transact business on our behalf in Parliament, hold our purse, hold the executive accountable, pass laws for us, are doing that for themselves, have commodified that mandate that we have given them, and are trading in that mandate,” he said.

“That not only undermines their legitimacy, it also undermines and erodes public confidence and public trust in that institution, and that is what we are confronted with.”

The former Lands Minister said the central issue should therefore not be whether the allegations concern Mr Afenyo-Markin or any other individual lawmaker.

“That, so if that person was sent to Parliament to ensure that the resources are used judiciously and prudently, and that person now thinks that all of us do not matter, in so far as his pocket is lined, then we are in trouble,” he said.

He argued that such conduct would defeat the purpose for which Ghanaians elect their representatives.

“Then the basic reason why we elected them in the first place goes, because they do not stand for us any longer; they are standing for themselves.”

Mr Fuseini said the allegations should therefore be treated as a broader democratic concern.

“And that’s why we should treat what we are hearing not as Alexander Afenyo-Markin, but as a serious concern that goes to the root of our democracy,” he said.

He added that the issue touches on the constitutional promise of equal opportunity and national prosperity.

“That promise will seriously be undermined if people do not pursue the collective interests, but are pursuing personal interests to the, I mean, disadvantage of the entirety of Ghana.”