Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Bagbin, is expected to announce the fate of Dome-Kwabenya MP Sarah Adwoa Safo today, Wednesday, 26 October 2022, regarding her long absence from the chamber without permission.
Mr Bagbin, before the house went on a three-and-a-half month recess, deferred his ruling on the future of the Dome-Kwabenya MP to this new session.
A former Member of Parliament for the Kumbumgu Constituency, Mr Ras Mubarak, petitioned the Speaker to enforce Article 97(1)c of the 1992 Constitution by referring some four MPs, including Ms Safo, to the Privileges Committee for absenting themselves for more than 15 days without permission.
According to the ex-lawmaker, the Standing Orders of Parliament are not clear as to who can or should raise the matter of absenteeism on the floor of the House for a debate and, or referral by Mr Speaker to the Committee on Privileges but it is incidences like this, if unattended to, that threatens Ghana’s democracy.
Quoting an Afrobarometer data, Mr Mubarak said trust in Parliament has fallen by 12 per cent between 2002 and 2019.
The report, he said, ranked Parliament as the third corrupt institution in the country – just behind the police and judges.
“I humbly submit that democracy can only work if Parliament puts the common good ahead of the party and personal interest. At a time of seeming collapse of trust in politics and Parliament as an institution, it is my fervent prayer that the House would rise to the occasion and be united on this matter, so as to uphold our constitution and also win back waned public confidence,” the petition stated.
The Speaker of Parliament referred the matter to the committee.
Ms Safo, however, never appeared before the committee despite several invitations.
In May 2022, the MP said she was not aware she had been invited or served a notice of appearance by parliament over the matter.
“I am not aware such a thing has been given to me”, she told Accra-based Joy News, adding: “I am just hearing it from you”.
“As we speak, I don’t know that I have been invited”, she stressed.
“I have to be served,” she added.
Ms Safo has been in the US for the past few months.
She says she has been attending to her sick child and would only return to Ghana if the child got better.
Source: ClassFMonline.com
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