The group of fishermen, canoe owners and fishmongers made the lament in a statement in response to a release by the Majority side of Parliament over the impasse between the MP for Madina, Francis Xavier Sosu, and the Police.
“Our attention has been arrested by the statement released by the Majority side of Parliament in response to Rt. Hon. Speaker Alban Bagbin’s decision to shield the MP for Madina from illegal arrest by the Police. We write to say we are totally disappointed in the Majority side’s decision to take the side of the Police against one of its own.”
The statement is signed by Mr. Adjieteh Quaye, Chairman of the Tema Canoe Owners Association and chief fisherman within the fishing community.
The statement is in response to a statement that the Majority side in Parliament had released in response to the Speaker’s decision not to allow the Police to arrest the Madina MP over the leadership of his constituents to demonstrate at Oyarifa, within his constituency.
According to the Majority side, the Speaker, by shielding the MP from unlawful arrest was changing the rules of parliament even though the Police’ attempt to arrest the MP is in spite of available parliamentary immunity.
As the Speaker points out, the Police had the option to either write to the Speaker for the MP to be released to assist with the investigation or invite him, but the Police did none of these.
Consequently, the Speaker summoned two Police officers who had harassed the MP and this did not go down well with the Majority said which attacked the Speaker in a statement.
But according to the Tema fishers Association, the Majority side’s decision to back the police means that Parliament is divided and is unable to carry out its role as a checkmate on the Executive in the governance system of checks and balances.
Besides, they noted that it was very worrying that the Speaker that the Majority side is attacking is the Rt. Hon. Bagbin, who has been “the people’s Speaker”.
“Rt. Hon. Bagbin is the one Speaker who has given ear to the concerns of the ordinary Ghanaians, be they workers who have been victimized by the government in its bank closures or victims of elections who were disenfranchised. He is the people’s Speaker. It is therefore very sad that we will have the Majority side of Bagbin’s parliament turn against him in a matter with the Police. This being the case, can we say that parliament’s role in the checks and balances of state is still intact?”
The statement advised the Majority side, to “stop allowing politics to blind them and support the People’s Speaker so that Parliament can hold the executive to check.” Read Full Story
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