Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has expressed concern after it emerged that a parliamentary service board meeting was held in Dubai a few weeks ago.
Apparently, the said meeting was moved to the United Arab Emirates to be of convenience to the Speaker, Mr. Bagbin who was receiving treatment in Dubai at the time.
The members who took part in the said meeting were flown and accommodated at the expense of the Ghanaian taxpayer.
However, Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa wondered if the said meeting could not have been held virtually if it was so urgent that it could not have been rescheduled.
In a Facebook post, the North Tongu MP wrote,
“Media reports of a recent Ghana Parliamentary Service Board meeting held in Dubai must be of concern to all of us, particularly, Members of Parliament who are at the heart of any legislative system.
We know the Rt. Hon. Speaker. Alban Bagbin and the Majority Group Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu were both at some point in Dubai receiving medical attention, however, the fundamental question is: if the meeting couldn’t wait for their return perhaps because urgent matters had to be discussed, couldn’t this board meeting have been organized virtually so other members of the board participate from Ghana?
It would be most disconcerting if it emerges that truly there was no virtual component to this board meeting.We must admit that as the arm of government responsible for financial oversight, especially, over the executive, this doesn’t look great if confirmed, more so, when Parliament has been trying with much difficulty in recent times to rein in an unhinged profligate executive.
Probably, there’s a superior explanation to address the legitimate anxiety being expressed by many Ghanaians. If there is, we can only urge the Parliamentary Service to put out a statement clarifying matters, since for now, the optics do not do the image of Parliament any good”.
Source: GhanaFeed.Com