Civil society group Odekro wants Parliament to withhold the salary of New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Assin Central Ken Agyapong if he is suspended for the rest of the session over contempt charges.
The Privileges Committee of Parliament has found the NPP loudmouth guilty of contempt having gone on record to have tagged the House as “cheap” and “useless” in a live radio discussion.
In its final report, the Committee recommended sanctions against the Assin Central lawmaker.
“The committee has carefully considered the matter in the light of the totality of the evidence gathered and in accordance with the provisions of the constitution, the standing orders and other relevant enactment, and concluded that the honourable member for Assin Central constituency Mr. Ken Ohene Agyapong is indeed in contempt of Parliament for the remarks he made that “Parliament is cheap” and “Parliament is useless”.
“Accordingly, the committee recommends to the House to adopt its report and sanction honourable Ken Ohene Agyapong by suspending him for the rest of this session or reprimand him”.
The Plenary of the House will decide on Mr. Agyapong’s fate today before it rises.
Commenting on the development, Odekro said it supports the recommendation of the Privileges Committee, however, suspension alone will serve no purpose sense the MP is a habitual absentee in Parliament.
“We feel it must go with a cut in his salary or stopping it. He’s already an MP who hardly contributes to debate in Parliament and usually absent. Suspending him is like asking a student who is already truant to stay home,” Odekro’s Research and Content Development Director Ernest Armah told Starr News.
The proposed sanctions by the committee come despite Mr. Agyepong’s denial that he called the House “useless” when he appeared for them.
The maverick politician had gone on a radio tirade against the Majority leader of Parliament Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu and the House after some members called on him to exercise restraint in his outbursts against investigative journalist Anas Armeway Anas following his work on Ghana Football which resulted in the removal of Kwesi Nyantakyi as President of the Ghana Football Association.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM
