Majority Leader backs calls for Committees report to be fully implemented
Muntaka files motion to reverse Speaker's directive
Former Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak has questioned the basis for which the Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu together with Chief Whip, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, have mounted a spirited defense for Dome – Kwabenya MP, Sarah Adwoa Safo, over her continuous absence from the House since the beginning of the year.
In an interview with Accra-based Joy FM, he described the stance of the duo as “outrageous”.
He stressed that the rules of the House must fully be allowed to take its course.
“I’m in total shock of the position of the Chief Whip and the Minority Leader. Whose interest are the Minority Leader and the Chief Whip serving…because this clearly cannot be a service to the public interest and its so disappointing.
“The official opposition party in the country in a situation like this when there’s a collapse of trust in Parliament when they are expected to be defending the Constitution will take this outrageous position.
“As Evans puts to the Chief Whip, what business have the opposition leader and the Chief Whip have in defending Sarah Adwoa Safo? What business do they have in defending Sarah Adwoa Safo?” he quizzed.
He further stated that the opposition National Democratic Congress should examine critically its Parliamentary leadership if it won’t latch at the opportunity to win public trust.
“Clearly from the Minority Chief Whip’s position, he’s going to whip his members not to support the deliberations of the Privileges Committee and if that was the route to be taken, then the NDC ought to take a serious decision as to who should lead the party in Parliament because you cannot have an opposition party seeking to be in government not take an advantage to win back public trust,” Ras Mubarak stressed.
Alban Bagbin on April 5 referred three MPs including Sarah Adwoa Safo to the Privileges Committee for reportedly breaching the 15-day absenteeism rule after the trio absented themselves for over 15 sittings without permission.
Muntaka has particularly been defending the absentee Dome-Kwabenya MP, and has also filed a motion to reverse the referral of the MPs to the Privileges Committee.
On the Dome-Kwabenya MP, he said she wrote to the Majority Leadership to be granted a leave of absence however it was not sent to the Speaker, Alban Bagbin.
In his view, the embattled MP is being targeted by the leadership of the Majority as they refused to facilitate her access to a leave of absence.
“This matter of Adwoa Safo, I think that there’s a lot of unfair treatment to the lady. I am reliably informed that she wrote leave of absence and her leadership refused to recommend it to the Speaker.
“She wrote a leave of absence and then she traveled citing her children and challenges. And the leader, because they needed her at all cost refused to recommend. So she noticed along the line that she’s constantly being marked absent,” he said in an interview with Joy News.
Leadership of the Minority Caucus in Parliament