The Minority Chief Whip and Member of Parliament for Asawase in the Ashanti region, Hon Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka has called on his colleague Parliamentarians who are supposed to be in Chamber for Parliamentary proceedings but are using working hours for schooling to resign.
According to him, how could people be hopping between school and Parliament, using hours to work for their own benefit instead of working for the nation.
He described this conduct as illegal.
“We were voted for by our constituents to be in Parliament to work on their behalf but using the public hours to study is not good, it is illegal”, he maintained.
“Those who think they cannot sit and take part in proceedings on the floor but would just come and sign or would not come at all and attend classes should please resign honourably and go back to the classroom”, he added.
The four-term Member of the Legislature said this on the floor of Parliament when the House was considering the report on petition by the National Association of Law Students, seeking reforms in the country’s legal system.
He noted that working and schooling would not let members have enough time to learn well and do their work as Legislators.
This, he said, was the same with law students who couldn’t pass their law exams.
He observed that some of the students were working and at same time schooling, and this would not give them ample time to learn and pass their exams.
Members have been absenting themselves from the House and this has become a source of worry to the leadership, compelling the Speaker and his two deputies to complain about it.
Some Members of Parliament after winning the elections and are supposed to be punctual in attending proceedings of the House, rather start schooling to do additional courses, which is somehow impeding the work of the house.
The Minority Chief Whip explained that he is not saying Members upgrading themselves or seeking knowledge is bad, but not at the expense of the general public who voted them to Parliament for the legislative functions.
He noted that some staff of Parliament, and even in the public institutions, are affected by this, and instead of being in the office to work, they use precious public time out of office to go to school.
“There are certain times you will need a staff to do something for you, and only to be told he/she has gone to school. We should not do this, it cripples the work of the country,” he reiterated.
—- By: Sammy Agyei /Frontpageghana.com/Ghana
