The Minority in Parliament says it will petition the National Media Commission (NMC) over some unsavoury comments host of Good Evening Ghana, Paul Adom-Otchere allegedly made against the Member of Parliament for the Klottey Korle Constituency, Dr. Zanetor Rawlings.
Paul Adom-Otchere had taken on Dr. Zanetor for claiming that some food items meant for kayayei and other vulnerable persons in Accra were being distributed on party lines.
Dr. Zanetor had argued that there was no transparency in the distribution of the food being given to persons hard-hit by the Coronavirus-induced lockdown of parts of the country.
“People are using partisanship to distribute food. This is unacceptable. This is very sad. The lockdown is for the whole place and not just a few people. What is going on is wrong. We need greater accountability and transparency in the distribution of food,” Dr. Zanetor said.
But during his editorial segment on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana yesterday, Thursday, the veteran journalist who was of the view that the legislator was peddling falsehood, rebuked Dr. Zanetor and advised her to “stop misbehaving”.
Minority unhappy
Meanwhile, the Members on the Minority side in Parliament are however unhappy with the action Paul Adom-Otchere took against one of their own.
Addressing the media on Friday, the Minority Chief Whip, Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka said they will petition the NMC in a bid to have the journalist punished.
“We will officially launch a complaint to the National Media Commission and it is our expectation that they will expedite action on it and get him to do the right thing. At this moment, this is not the time to divide ourselves. This is the time for us to be together and if for anything this virus has taught us, we are first humans before any other thing so let’s keep the humanity and work together and not reduce this into banter between NDC and NPP.”
“The President has done so well, he called the leadership of Parliament, the leadership of political parties so let us not make it look like we are only doing the good talk but when it comes to actual implementation, something else is done. So we hope this message will be taken in good faith and the necessary action taken,” Muntaka said.
Gender Minister takes on Zanetor
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Mrs. Cynthia Mamle Morrison had earlier stated that “The MP’s allegation that people are being asked to show party cards ostensibly by officials distributing Government food relief items is a total fabrication. In fact, the distribution of the food items to the Kayayei and the vulnerable is being done by the officials of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) in collaboration with the AMA, NADMO and the Fifth Infantry Battalion of the Ghana Armed Forces.”
Probe partisan distribution of COVID-19 food – Zanetor to Nana Addo
Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings on Thursday called on President Nana Akufo-Addo to institute a credible investigation into the alleged partisan distribution of food in some areas observing the lockdown including the Klottey-Korle constituency.
“I call on the President, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to institute credible investigations into the seeming politicization of food distribution in this time of crisis. My constituents and I stand ready to cooperate and to present unimpeachable evidence before such an investigative panel,” she said in a statement.
