Lawmakers in Ghana's Parliament behave like kindergarten children – NPP communicator

A member of the communications team of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ellen Ama Daaku, has described lawmakers in the Eighth Parliament of Ghana as members who behave like kindergarten children.

She said This particular Parliament, sometimes they behave like kindergarten children and has been a kindergarten teacher before, I can see how they behave. It’s just like the older versions of the KG2 and KG1 children. Sometimes this is how they behave with all due respect.

Her reactions come after the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, expressed displeasure after the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu rejected a motion filed for investigations into the use of COVID-19 expenditure.

He described the attitude of Joseph Osei-Owusu to overrule his rulings as unconstitutional, illegal, and offensive.

Bagbin also threatened to throw MPs out of the House when they disrupt proceedings.

He said the penchant of the First Deputy Speaker to overturn my ruling is, to say the least, is unconstitutional, illegal, and offensive. Be that it as it may I shall not be taking any such to overrule the decision of the First Deputy Speaker to dismiss the motion as ruled by the Honorable Ranking Member of the Finance Committee.

He stated that Honorable Members it is interesting to note that this is the second time the first Deputy Speaker has taken the chair and has made a ruling which intends was to overrule a position I had earlier on established before the House.

Speaking on Accra-based Asaase radio, Ellen Ama Daaku stated that the behaviour of the MPs has emboldened Alban Bagbin to sometimes use certain words on them.

She said I believe that Parliament all these years has operated on mutual respect on both sides because you have a lot of people from different levels of society. So, I expect them to continue like that. But this particular Parliament has been quite innovative in misbehaviour. I mean a certain form of misbehaviour that you’ll never have thought that Parliamentarians will be involved in.

I think that is also what is informing the Speaker’s attitude. As much as I do not agree with some of the words that he uses, this particular Parliament by their behaviour, some of the MPs has given him the reason for him to do what he’s doing. This particular Speaker has a tendency to be a bit authoritarian and I think it also comes from his long stay in Parliament and practically he knows almost everybody in there and all the processes.

Read Full Story