We can’t shield Ministers who dodge Parliamentary questions, named and shamed – Annoh- Dompreh
Majority Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh has called for Parliament to begin to name and shame Ministers who dodge questions in Parliament.
All Ministers, he said, should not be boxed into the same category but stressed those who consistently fail to appear before the House to respond to questions scheduled for their Ministries should be exposed.
“We have ministers who have been diligently doing their work and taking this House seriously. I don’t have to mention any names. Anytime any number of them is unable to attend upon the House they give notice ahead of time and for me, that is the crust of the matter,” he said.
The Majority Whip made the call during question time in Parliament on Tuesday when Transport Minister, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah failed to attend to the House to answer questions.
Minority Whip Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka raised concerns when the House was informed the Minister was ‘unavoidably’ absent and was requesting the questions to be re-programmed for Thursday.
Hon. Muntaka argued that Minister Kwaku Ofori Asiamah was well aware of the schedule, even through the Business Statement and expressed worry the standard that he exhibited in the past had dropped.
He warned Parliament will continue to be weak if Ministers are allowed to decide when they will appear to respond to questions.
He said, “I believe as a House we need to resolve this because unless the person is sick; He did not even have the courtesy to send a Deputy Minister. I don’t think we can continue to allow this to go on.”
Majority Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh agreed with his colleague’s remarks but said all Ministers should not be boxed together and that those who engage in such conduct should be named and shamed.
He argued Ministers should not bring their notice of absence on the same day they are supposed to appear before the House and stressed that is totally unacceptable.
He promised to reach out to the Minister and pleaded with the House to give him the benefit of the doubt because of his past diligence and re-programme him as soon as possible.
Source: expressnewsghana.com
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