Former Members Parliament Cannot Be Treated differently From Pensioners Who Are Also Equally Suffering

The Members of Parliament must not think they are of a different breed of Ghanaians. The problem their former colleagues are confronted with, thousand of other pensioners are in a worst deplorable conditions.

The abrasive manner in which Mr Afenyo Markin, the majority leader wanted to push parliament to enact a law that would benefit every member of parliament that may leave parliament either through losing his or her seat or voluntary bowing out from parliament. It's absurd and insulting to other pensioners who are equally in a deplorable state after they had faithfully rendered quality service to Ghana their motherland.

Afenyo Markin must not be selective in his thinking that only his former colleagues are suffering, there are thousands of pensioners in his constituency who are in a dire situations than his colleagues, therefore he should broaden his argument to cover every pensioners in need.

Members of parliament who are entitled to ex gracias every four years are far more better better of than most average pensioners who had rendered several years of quality service to the state. Therefore if these privilege class of Ghanaians are complaining of neglect, then we can imagine the level of suffering the ordinary pensioners are being subjected to.

Members of Parliament must come to the realization that blind loyalty and sycophancy to the President is the bane of our under development, because they failed to guard the dignity of parliament by allowing the executive to manipulate everything, and even to extent of using them as rubber-stamp on every obnoxious laws.

It appears the members of parliament have forgotten that power is transient therefore a day would come when they may lose the privilege position they've occupied, hence they must be circumspect and careful about whatever bill they are called upon to approve. Whatever decision they make may come to hunt them in future when those privileges are taken away from them.

The electorates did not queue to elect them to do the biddings of the executive, their responsibility is to guard the dignity of parliament, unfortunately our legislatures have let their guards down by being sycophantic to the Presidents.

Any member of parliament who want to survive and make a career in parliament must understand that they can only achieve that ambition through the collaboration with their electorates and not being an unrepentant propagandist of government.

The best Afenyo Markin and his current members of parliament must do is to resist the overbearing conduct of the executive by diluting the ostentatious lifestyle of the Executive. That's the only way they can protect the dignity and their independent status, which would eventually compel the executive to treat them with respect.

Some Members of Parliament are sway by the provision in the constitution that gave the President the power to appoint fifty percent of his minister from parliament and due that provision the standard criteria of selecting people to serve hinges on sycophancy and blind loyalty to the appointing authority. Even though about 40% of members of parliament are considered for appointments into the executive space. Therefore it doesn't make sense people of high repute easily destroy it for political favors.

Why is it that the legislatures are not entitled to the same perks of the executive, while the parliamentarian are required to buy their car and rent a house to live in, the Ministers and other appointees are house, and given a car and a driver at the expense of the state..The most ridiculous of all the benefits is giving them the opportunity to purchase the car allotted them for pittance.

The legislature must exert their financial and oversight authority on the executive and checkmate the excesses of the executive.

Mike Kalley
Sociopolitical Analyst.