Sleeping Parliamentarians Should Be Blamed For Airbus Scandal--Economist

An Economist, Mr. Kwabena Owusu Nketia, has blamed Ghana's Parliament for the corrupt practices that have bedeviled the country, for failing to carry out their oversight responsibility.

He said the House of Records over the years has placed premium on their self-centeredness, instead of the country, thus, consistently failed in effectively delivering on its financial accountability role.

Mr. Nketia, who is also an Economics tutor at the Kumasi Anglican Senior High School, said this as a panel member on Kumasi based radio station Otec FM's morning show 'Nyansapo', hosted by Captain Koda, on Thursday, February, 2020.

His concerns come in the wake of the Airbus bribery scandal in which Ghana has been cited as one of the five countries Airbus agents allegedly bribed or promised payments to senior officials in exchange for business favours between 2009 and 2015.

He said if Parliament had that time scrutinized the deal, which according to him was approved in haste, Ghana would not have been put into international ridicule for involving in the Airbus bribery scandal.

"I blame parliament for not doing what it is supposed to do, guarding public purse and demanding detailed documents of such huge transactions", he said.

He accused Parliament of “sleeping over their mandate to protect the public purse resulting to corrupt practices among top politicians in the country, instead, always approving policies that are of benefits to the members”.

He called on the ruling government to investigate the matter to the latter and bring the culprits to book rather than making it a mere political gimmick to canvas for votes.

---OtecfmGhana.com/Francis Appiah