A Neutral Body Should Probe Ayariga’s Bribe Allegation

A section of the Ghanaian population and groups, including the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), have called on the leadership of Parliament to commence investigations into the alleged bribery scandal which has rocked the House. This follows an allegation made by Mahama Ayariga, Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, that Boakye Agyarko, then […]

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A section of the Ghanaian population and groups, including the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), have called on the leadership of Parliament to commence investigations into the alleged bribery scandal which has rocked the House.

This follows an allegation made by Mahama Ayariga, Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, that Boakye Agyarko, then Minister-designate for Energy, attempted to bribe members of the Minority in Parliament on the vetting committee to have his nomination approved, after he noticed they had kicked against his recommendation.

According to Ayariga, each of the members received GH¢3,000, but returned the money when they realised that the money was meant to influence their decision on the nominee, saying they initially thought the money was their sitting allowance.

Mahama Ayariga said Minority Chief Whip Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka gave each member on the Minority side GH¢3,000 from monies he received from the Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Joseph Osei-Owusu, to agree to approve Mr. Agyarko as Minister of Energy.

Alhaji Muntaka has denied either receiving money from Joseph Osei-Owusu or dolling out cash to members of the Minority, as alleged by Mahama Ayariga.

Mr. Boakye Agyarko, on the other hand, has also denied giving any money to influence the Minority to approve his nomination.

On his part, Joseph Osei-Owusu has threatened to go to court to clear his name of the said allegation.

Speaking on the issue, Dr. Rashid Dramani, Director of ACEPA, posited that the scandal is likely to tarnish the image of the House, and, therefore, there was the need for the leadership to work very hard to redeem its image both locally and internationally.

“Whether it is true or not, I think the image of the legislative branch of government is dented, and they might as well work hard to clean that. I think an investigation will be in order, if it has to come to that, and if it is what it takes to clean up the image of Parliament,” he stressed.

Though TheChronicle supports the call for thorough investigations to be conducted into the issue to help clear the image of the noble Legislative House, the paper thinks that for Parliament to investigate itself would not yield the desired results.

A former MP for Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa, P C Appiah Ofori, in November 2013, accused then Ghanaian legislators present in the House on the day or voting of collecting a hefty booty of US$5,000 each for the approval of the sale of the Ghana Telecom to Vodafone Holdings BV.

Again, in March 2014, the MP for Nadowli/Kaleo, Alban Sumana Kinsford Bagbin, disclosed at a two-day seminar in Koforidua that some Ghanaian parliamentarians take bribes to articulate the views of some individuals and organisations on the floor.

He pointed out that there was evidence to that effect, adding that the practice had persisted because of the lack of laid-down rules and ethics on lobbying in the country.

Not long ago, the Citizen Vigilante, Martin Amidu, made certain grave claims, accusing the Fifth And Sixth Parliaments of the Republic of corrupt practices.

The Chronicle is not oblivious of the fact that the Privileges Committee of Parliament, as per the Standing Orders of the House, has the mandate to investigate issues of Parliament, but given our current situation, will the committee be in the position to deliver effectively?

The point is, even if the committee completes its investigation and finds that indeed, the allegation is true, can it come out boldly to make it public? If it does, then people would assume that all the allegations mentioned above against the House are true.

On the other hand, if it discovers that the allegation holds no water, people would still not believe in its report, just as in the case of CHRAJ and former President John Mahama’s Ford gift saga. CHRAJ cleared him, but Ghanaians still hold it against him.

It is against this backdrop that The Chronicle is calling for a neutral body other than Parliament itself to probe this serious allegation for people to have confidence in the outcome.

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