MPs urged to be realistic during campaigns

Nana Abu Bonsrah, NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Fomena Constituency has urged his colleagues to be realistic in their promises and take into account the national interest when campaigning for votes.

He said it was wrong for MPs to promise their communities “castles in the sky” when they have not been able to build one on earth.

Nana Bonsrah said this in an interview with a section of the Parliamentary Press Corps in Accra.

The MP was commenting on the lyrics of a CD album titled, "A Letter to Parliament", which indicts MPs for not delivering on their campaign promises.

Kwame Asare Obeng-Baffour, alias "A Plus," composed the song on the album.

Nana Bonsrah said the musician was entitled to his opinion of MPs, but he could have been giving a voice to the voiceless in the society.

He, however, said the song should serve as a wake-up call to politicians that people were watching them.

Ms Akua Sena Dansua, NDC MP for North Dayi, said the lyrics were humorous but when one listened to it with a critical ear, it appeared the song hit too hard on NDC.

She, however, said the musician was at liberty as a Ghanaian to freely express himself and recommended it to Ghanaians.

Ms. Dansua urged the musician to come up with albums that would also touch on other social issues such as corruption and tribalism, saying they were destroying the fabric of society.

A Plus, who describes himself as a crusader and social commentator, told the press that although MPs were not in charge of development in the communities, they enticed people with promises of development, but failed to deliver on them.

He said the album was not meant to ridicule MPs or Parliament as an institution, but was to tell MPs about how their constituents felt.

He said the album was woven around an imaginary MP called "Appoofii", who defies the rain and sweat to woo his community to vote for him only to neglect them without fulfilling his promises when he got elected to Parliament.

A Plus later presented the press with copies of the album, saying he was yet to make an official presentation of 231 copies to the Speaker and MPs.

Source: GNA