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| MPs boycott anniversary cloth |
3/5/2007 |
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... Punished for demading accountability? Accra, March 5 (The Point) - Members of Parliament are reported to be angry with the Ghana@50 Secretariat and the Leadership of the House for having been slighted and ignored in the distribution of the anniversary cloth and other paraphernalia.
The MPs have therefore decided to boycott the wearing of the cloth for the special sitting on Monday.
The MPs, who seemed to have been carried away by partisan emotions towards the celebration of the occasion and subsequent hullabaloo all this while forgot to arrange for their share of the anniversary cloth and other paraphernalia and when the reality dawned on them that they had been ‘left out of the boat and denied their share of the booty’, they became aggressive at the last moment.
At the time of leaving the precinct of the Parliament House on Friday, some of the MPs especially those of the Majority side were in a ‘state of confusion’ since they had since mot received their ‘consignment’ and there was no official information from the Leadership of the House as to what to do.
The Minority however were not bothered since they considered themselves to be ‘strangers or outsiders’ to the Golden Jubilee Celebration.
The only information available to them was that they were supposed to dress traditionally or formally for the 5th March special sitting where foreign dignitaries and the Duke of Kent would be in the House as a reminiscent of what happened on 5th March 1957 and also to usher in the independence anniversary.
The MPs complained that as an arm of government, they did not see why they were asked to buy the anniversary cloth and other paraphernalia while the Executive and some institutions and individuals had theirs free.
They were also not happy with the leadership of the House either for not championing their cause and felt left down.
According to a cross section of the MPs, it was they who approved the budget for the celebration of the Golden Jubilee Anniversary and for that matter they should have been treated with respect and dignity.
They were however quick to add that they suspected some ‘hunky panky’ deal emanating from the Ghana@50 Secretariat because some of their colleagues demanded accountability especially summoning the Chief of Staff, Kwadwo Mpiani to meet the Finance Committee of Parliament to explain how the $20 million was being expended.
Source:
The Point
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