Many Ghanaians believe, Ghana, our motherland, is passing through interesting times, especially since the inception of the 4th Republican democratic dispensation.

A lot of Ghanaians now hold the view that, “the Parliament of Ghana is now over and above our NATIONAL CONSTITUTION and even the very laws the August House enacts for the rest of the citizens to obey.”

Some Ghanaians also believe thatParliament, “Ghana’s Parliament is a law unto itself” because their perception is that nobody in the country checks the MISCONDUCT of Parliament.

Others also claim that they now understand why Parliament is the first institution to be ‘collapsed’ by coup makers in the country, contending that “our Parliament is an UNACCOUNTABLE institution, supervising all sectors of our national life.”

Some of our country men and women also claim to ‘clearly’ understand why “people are now rushing to be elected into Parliament” and those already there are “refusing” to be ‘elbowed out’.

Indeed, some Ghanaians still ‘refuse’ to understand why the issue of payment of double salaries to some parliamentarians and cabinet ministers has not been fully addressed by the state of Ghana.

They argue that the amounts involved in the payment of the double salaries are huge and could have been channelled elsewhere towards our national development efforts.

They insist that, “the double-salaries issue is a clearly criminal act “that urgently requires ‘proper’ investigation and prosecution “to serve as ‘a red- flag’ signal to other state-actors and duty-bearers.”

“Parliament is a hallowed and revered institution which must not set such ‘horrible’ and ‘naked thievery’ example for others to emulate in the country,” John Donkor,  a political science student of the University of Ghana, has said.

According to John Donkor, “payment and receipt of undeserved double salaries to public servants should rather be checked by the Auditor-General and supervised by the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.

“Such criminal acts MUST NOT be perpetuated by Honourable Members of Parliament, instead”

A retired public servant, agitated by the alleged Board Meeting held in Dubai by Ghana’s Parliamentary Service Board also fumes:”How can Parliament set such a very bad example for other institutions  of state to follow?

“Even the Parliamentary Service Board has no respect for Ghanaians. They have even refused to respond to the damning allegation that they ‘exported’ their December Board Meeting to Dubai, let alone explaining the basis for such ‘ruse’.”

The public servant asks:”Is Parliament accountable to the people of Ghana or to themselves?”

According to the retired public servant:”Parliament preaches buy made-in-Ghana goods but practises; import China goods, including tables and chairs into Ghana’s Parliament.

“And is this attitude of Parliament a good example for Ghana?”

A Managing Director of an Accra-based carpentry firm also says,”if Parliament had contracted Ghanaian carpentry firms to provide the tables and chairs for Parliament, we could have employed more hands in our firms and the nation would have saved some hard earned foreign exchange.”

The Managing Director says, Parliament must set good examples for us to follow as a nation.

Contact email/ WhatsApp of the author:

asmahfrankg@gmail.com (0505556179)