Muntaka Leads Minority's Surprise Defence For Absentee NPP MPs Referred to Privileges Committee
- The Minority is putting up a surprise defence for three NPP MPs who have been referred to the Privileges Committee of Parliament for absenteeism
- Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak, has already filed a motion to challenge the Speaker's decision to refer the MPs
- He is claiming that while absenteeism was wrong, the way Parliament was going about the current matter sets a bad precedent
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Muntaka Mubarak, Minority Chief Whip, is leading his side to defend three governing NPP Members of Parliament referred to the Privileges Committee for their consistent absenteeism.
Already, the Chief Whip has filed a motion to challenge the referral of Sarah Adwoa Safo, Henry Quartey, and Kennedy Agyepong to the Privileges Committee for absenting themselves for over 15 sitting days.
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He and the Minority group want the referral to be reversed.
Muntaka Mubarak told Joy News that Parliament is going about the matter wrongly.
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"I am against Members of Parliament being absent themselves…but let's be careful the way it is being done. When we allow a bad precedent to be set, it will come back and bite all of us," he said.
Speaker Alban Bagbin, on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, referred Dome Kwabenya lawmaker, Sarah Adwoa Safo, to Parliament's Privileges Committee.
Assin Central MP Kennedy Agyapong, and Ayawaso Central MP, Henry Quartey, complete the list of three governing NPP MPs referred to the committee.
The MPs violate Parliament's rule that MPs must not consistently absent themselves for 15 sittings days without permission.
But Muntaka Mubarak said it is common knowledge that Kennedy Agyapong and Henry Quartey were sick for long periods.
For Sarah Adwoa Safo, the Minority Chief Whip said the Majority leadership badly treated the MP.
"I think there's a lot of unfair treatment to the lady. I'm reliably informed that she wrote leave of absence and her leadership refused to recommend it to Speaker," he alleged.
The Minority MP for Asawase alleged further that the Majority had a clear intent to punish Adwoa Safo.
He said he expected the Speaker to probe the leave of absence letter written by Ms Safo, which was allegedly refused by the Majority leadership before referring her to the committee.
The Privileges Committee will report to the House two weeks after they resume sitting from the Easter break.
The Majority has been struggling because of Adwoa Safo's absence: Kyei-Mensah Bonsu admits
Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has admitted that the long absence of Sarah Adwoa Safo from Parliament has caused his side to struggle.
The Suame MP told Joy News on April 4, 2022, that it has proven a most challenging task to get Ms Safo, MP for Dome Kwabenya, back to Parliament since last year.
It is not clear why the Dome Kwabenya lawmaker has been absent for over six months and taken an extended leave of absence from her position as Minister for Gender, Children, and Social Protection, but many unverified explanations have popped up.
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