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06.07.2019 Headlines

New chamber: Parliament shockingly irresponsible – Casely-Hayford

By CitiNewsRoom
New chamber: Parliament shockingly irresponsible – Casely-Hayford
06.07.2019 LISTEN

A member of pressure group, OccupyGhana, Sydney Casely-Hayford has lashed out at Parliament for planning to put up a new chamber complex.

Speaking on The Big Issue, Mr. Casely-Hayford said a new complex should not even be under consideration for Parliament following the country’s standard of living.

Citizens are “alienated and disaffected with the way Parliament is carrying on,” the social commentator remarked.

“When I heard this for the first time, I couldn't believe how irresponsible Parliament could be. This is just crass irresponsibility.”

Explaining Parliament’s misplaced priorities with an example he said “You give people money to spend and instead of going to buy food, they go and by an engagement ring. That is irresponsible; which is the similarity we have here.”

There has been a justification of the plans from key figures in the legislature like the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.

He has argued that a new chamber with a 450-seater capacity, will make engagement in Parliament easier and offer more space for MPs, among other reasons.

But Mr. Casely-Hayford rubbished the argument saying “none of them washes for me.”

“Parliament should rather be trying at this stage to try and get the citizens of this country to respect them. We've had so many things going on in Parliament that just have not made sense,” he stated.

The plans for a new complex sparked protests from within Parliament and the public.

A campaign, #DropThatChamber, was started on social media and is expected to translate into a demonstration on July 13.

MPs from both sides of Parliament have also come out in opposition to the deal.

Civil Society groups have also insisted that constructing a new complex for Parliament will be a misuse of resources.

Dissent over the plans sparked controversy in Parliament on Friday after the Commander-in-Chief of the Economic Fighters League, Ernesto Yeboah, and two others were detained by the Parliamentary Protection Unit.

Ernesto Yeboah yelled, “drop that chamber” as an MP argued in favour of the new complex on the Floor of Parliament.

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