Members of the NPP Majority Caucus appear to have found solution to the incessant attempts by the opposition NDC Members of Parliament (MPs) to resort to private members’ motions and questions as a strategy to cause public disaffection for the government.
The NPP MPs are now matching their counterparts in the Minority group, who have placed significant emphasis on ‘inquisitorial propaganda’ as a way of mobilising public opinion against the government.
The NPP MPs are now countering the NDC with motions and questions to neutralise any negative effect.
The NDC with their MP for North Tongu in the Volta Region, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, as the arrowhead, have been vociferous in hiding behind parliamentary immunity, to demand disclosures of vital information, including full cost of presidential foreign travels that is deemed to be sensitive national security information.
In September, the NDC MP who has been obsessed with the President’s foreign travels, filed two urgent questions, seeking to know how much it cost the state of President Akufo-Addo’s recent trip to the United States after claiming the presidency chartered a luxurious jet at a cost of GH₵3.7 million.
Prior to these questions, Mr. Ablakwa had made similar demands on the foreign travels of President Akufo-Addo on the floor of Parliament, which was answered by the National Security Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah.
“The President has [again] chartered another flight which cost us GHS 3.7 million. I am filing two other questions on the latest revelations and I am hoping that this time, the government ministers will not pussyfoot and run away from accountability as they have done all of these months,” he had told Citi FM ahead of the filing of the questions.
He even claimed the President spent GH¢2.8 million on his travels to South Africa and France after chartering a private jet instead of using the presidential jet.
“For just these three round trips, the President is imposing GH¢10 million [on the taxpayer],” the NDC MP claimed.
As he propagated the presidential travels, the NDC elements on social media were displaying photoshopped documents of a jet they claimed was used by the President.
NPP Counter
In the ensuing heat, the Second Deputy Majority Whip, Habib Iddrisu (NPP Tolon) also filed a question, seeking details of all foreign travels of former President John Dramani Mahama.
The Minister of National Security or the Minister of Defence is expected to answer both questions when they are called by the House.
After filing, the opposition NDC MPs waited until Parliament resumed recently from recess, and Okudzeto Ablakwa demanded to know the status of his urgent question on the presidential travels.
The moment he finished demanding for answers, Alhaji Habib also stood up to ask about the status of his question on Mr. Mahama’s foreign travels and the Minority MPs were incensed that the Majority was doing what they called equalisation
Recruitment Into Security Agencies
Mr. Ablakwa again joined forces with six other members of the Minority to file a private members’ motion requesting Parliament to investigate the recruitment practices of the state security agencies of Ghana between the period 2013 and 2020 and to establish what they called the levels of transparency and fairness of those practices and make consequential recommendations.
They had zeroed in on 2017 to 2020 but they later changed it to 2013 to 2020.
The other proponents included Haruna Iddrisu (NDC Tamale South), Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka (NDC Asawase) Mahama Ayariga (NDC Bawku Central), Suhuyini Alhassan Sayibu (NDC Tamale North) and James Agalga (NDC Builsa North).
Counter-motion
The NPP MPs countered the move and also filed a similar motion for the House to investigate the ethnic, gender, regional and other sectional backgrounds of persons recruited into the security forces since January 1993, to establish the level of ethnic, regional and gender balance in the recruitment and appointment to such public offices, and make appropriate recommendations.
The counter-motion was sponsored by Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin (NPP Effutu), Frank Annoh-Dompreh (NPP Nsawam-Adoagyiri), Samuel Atta Akyea (NPP Abuakwa South), and Osei Bonsu Amoah (NPP Akwapim South).
New Motion
In the ensuing war of motions, the NDC MPs have reinvented the wheels by filing a fresh motion, demanding the House to investigate “the inappropriate interferences by members of the state security agencies of Ghana in the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections of Ghana in 2020, and in particular, the violence perpetrated against citizens, causing injuries and leading to loss of the lives of Tajudeen Alhassan (39 years), Abdallah Ayariga (18 years), Emmanuel Dompreh (36 years) Samira Zakaria (36 years), Ibrahim Abass (30 years), Rita Otto (15 years), and Fuseini Musah (14 years) in the 2020 Elections and make consequential recommendations.”
The latest motion is being sponsored by the same people, Haruna Iddrisu, Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, Mahama Ayariga, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Suhuyini Alhassan Sayibu, and James Agalga.
Another Counter
Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, Samuel Atta Akyea, and Osei Bonsu Amoah did not allow matters to rest.
They also filed for Parliament to investigate “the alleged interferences by some members of the security agencies and some vigilante groups before, during and after presidential and general elections since 1993 resulting in injuries and loss of lives and make consequential recommendations.”
By Ernest Kofi Adu