Ask ‘Mugabe’ Kyei Mensah-Bonsu to retire – Muntaka tells Akufo-Addo

Member of Parliament(MP) for the Asawase Constituency, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka has responded to President Akufo Addo’s call on the people of Asawase to replace him with another person in Parliament in 2020, MyNewsGh.com reports.

The Minority Chief Whip has asked the President to direct his call to the people of the Suame Constituency to get Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu nicknamed Mugabe out of Parliament because he has nothing to show for the 24 years that he would be in parliament by the end of his current tenure.

MyNewsGh.com reported earlier that, the President had said the Asawase MP has lost his substance to continue serving as a legislator and so must be replaced, when he addressed a section of the Zongo Community as part of his tour of the Ashanti region last week.

“I know it’s not yet time to campaign for the upcoming elections but you benefit more if you start the work early” he said.

The president further told the gathering that, “Muntaka has stayed too long in the Parliament House; he has nothing new to do there so allow another person to also go there and try so that we can realise the development that we want”; the crowd responded with loud cheers.

Responding to the President’s comments in an interview with Kumasi-based Ultimate FM monitored by MyNewsGh.com, Muntaka said, “I don’t think the president was nationalistic when he said that because this is a former member of parliament, I met him in parliament, a very experienced one.”

“And around that same time you get the siting president say this. I mean, without blowing my own trumpet, I’m one of the most experienced MPs in our country, I don’t think the president was nationalistic. And I don’t think he was referring to me, maybe he was referring to Kyei Mensah-Bonsu. Because the reason why I’m saying he was referring to Kyei Mensah Bonsu, Kyei Mensah-Bonsu is eight years older than me in parliament, so in terms of longevity, when you are talking about he has over stayed, I don’t think he’s referring to me”. He observed.

He said the Suame MP is senior to him in Parliament by 8 years, but there’s nothing to show for his long service, teasing the other MPs in Kumasi with the achievements he’s managed to chalk for his constituents in terms of infrastructure.

“I’ve seen the small vehicle you drove here, I haven’t seen it dirty. It’s been raining. I don’t think if you were to go to Kyei Mensah-Bonsu’s home to grant this interview, your car will be that neat. I don’t think if you were to go to any of my colleagues in Kumasi, their home, to grant this interview, your car will be that neat.”

“Because of the deplorable roads that you have to go through. And some of them you can’t even use this car to go to their homes because of how bad their roads are. I mean come to my constituency in the night and see. Every single major road has street lights. There is no single community here today that doesn’t have water, unless you decide not to connect it to your house,” he said.

He added “this is not same 14 years ago. There is no single school that is public that is in a wooden structure. When I came 80% of the schools were in wooden structures. I don’t think the president knows what he is talking about and I think he’s feeling the pain of my work in parliament.”

Muntaka also served notice that he would defeat the NPP candidate, Alidu Seidu who would be contesting him for the fourth time in the 2020 polls.