Minority Leader of Parliament, Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu has raised a legitimate concern for his colleague Members of Parliament following the death of Abuakwa North Constituency MP, Hon. Joseph Boakye Danquah Adu at his Shiashie residence on Tuesday February 9, 2016.
According to the Suame MP, it is time for the country to place priority on state protection for Members of Parliament who form one arm of government, as they have been neglected.
He bemoaned the vain excuses that the Parliamentarians are too many to assign security personnel to each member, but convenient to offer protection to the various District Chief Executives (DCEs) who are almost the same number as Parliamentarians.
He alluded that Members of Parliament in terms of order of importance should come before the District Chief Executives (DCEs), so wondering why state security is provided for the DCEs but the same cannot be done for the MPs; adding that almost every district has its own constituency except the cities and the cosmopolitan areas.
“There is nowhere in the world that deputy ministers are more important than MPs but they are given state protection and not MPs . . . but in Ghana if you are an MP there is no respect except you are a minister,” he argued.
“But in order of importance, it is only the President and his Vice President in the Executive arm of government that are above the MPs,” he stressed.
Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu however urged the government to take this issue serious; averring that it shouldn’t take the death of a Member of Parliament at his residence to look at the safety of Parliamentarians.
He however begged the various constituencies to press home the concern to seek the necessary protection for their MPs who are representing their interest.
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