The Member of Parliament for Old Tafo Constituency, Anthony Akoto Osei has said that the government as a whole needs to put an end to the monetization of Parliament.
According to him, now people become Members of Parliament because they have money and not necessarily because they want to work and represent their people.
“I think we need to move away from this monetization of Parliament and that is why I think the separation is important. Now, people become MPs because they have money. They buy the delegacy and sometimes they don’t even come to Parliament.”
Speaking on Face to Face, Dr. Akoto Osei stated that, there has been a disappointing decline in the level of debates happening in Parliament.
“The quality of debate in Parliament is not improving. When I first went to Parliament and Hon. J.H Mensah got up and spoke, He held the attention of both sides with his wisdom. Now, parliamentarians are not learning much to be able to contribute. It is not about making noise, you have to read.”
He added that if MPs do not read or study documents no matter the size, it is impossible for them to adequately contribute or make necessary arguments on an issue.
The MP for Old Tafo stated that political parties need to review their constitutions and parliamentary delegacy fees should be looked at so that people who are actually interested in working can have the opportunity to afford them.
“I think all parties need to review their constitution to bring [Parliamentary filing fees] down. We need to decide as a nation what we want our Parliament to do.”