Parliament angry over exclusion from courtesies

By Edmund Smith-Asante, PARLIAMENT HOUSE

Members of Parliament (MPs) have raised an issue about their exclusion from a list of state officials who will receive courtesies from Ghana’s High Commission in the UK, should they travel there on official duties.

While some described the omission as an indication of the lack of respect for members of the august house, others said it was unthinkable that that should happen.

The issue came to the floor of Parliament last Friday, when the MP for Ho West and Chairman of the Committee on Government Assurance, Mr Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, raised it.

Showing a letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed by its director, which he said was sent to all the MPs, he proceeded to read its contents to the House.

A letter from the Minister for Foreign Affairs signed by one Akwasi Agyare, Chief of Protocol, which states among other things ‘control measures intended to reduce running cost of the London Mission.’

He said the letter “stated categories of people who are supposed to receive attention from our [Ghana’s] Mission in London, which include ministers, deputy ministers who are to conduct government businesses in London,  Chief Justice, Mr Speaker himself, the Vice-President and spouse, the President and the First Lady, former Presidents and spouses, the leadership of Parliament and excludes Members of Parliament who are supposed to do government business in London.”

Steps taken by Parliament

Thereafter, several members of Parliament were on their feet to catch  the eye of the Speaker for the session, Mr Joe Ghartey, to comment on the issue.

First to respond was the Majority Leader, Mr Benjamin Kunbuor, who told the House that “this correspondence came to our attention last week and the Minority Leader and myself and the Speaker discussed it.”

He said they had put in some administrative measures to make sure that an appropriate response to the letter was done.

“But in the interim, the leadership has agreed that no leader will take advantage of this until all members of Parliament are included. And we intend to send the message that if this letter is not discussed and withdrawn, no leader who is travelling to the London office should take advantage of the courtesy in as much as it is closed to ordinary members,” Mr Kunbuor assured. 

Saying it was not the first time that such an issue had come up, he advised the Director of Protocol that it was a path the House had walked on before, and that some discussions needed to have taken place before the correspondence was sent. 

Summoning of Minister

Both the MP for Old Tafo, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, and the MP for Subin, Mr Isaac Osei, a former High Commissioner to the UK and Ranking Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, called for the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to be summoned to Parliament to explain the decision taken by the Foreign Affairs Ministry.’

“If it is just the explanation of cost, then that cannot be justified because there are other reasons why people in positions such as that should be accorded these protocols by various embassies,” Mr Isaac Osei stressed.

He said what accounted for the high costs that had to be borne by Ghana’s foreign missions, was rather a result of visits by party functionaries who called for the attention of the missions.

The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and MP for Biakoye, Mr Emmanuel Kwasi Bandua, also expressed his amazement at the contents of the letter from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, saying he was so disgusted that he believed something had to be done urgently. 

“It boils down to the fact that the Executive does not respect Parliament,” he stated, urging members to sign the bill on the separation of powers when it came before Parliament.

“We should always insist on our rights and always ensure that the right things are done,” he said to deafening cheers from the House. 

Mr Ghartey had to deny other members trying to catch his eye the opportunity to speak further on the issue in order to make progress on other issues.

The Majority Leader summed it all up by assuring the House of a draft letter on the matter on the Speaker’s table, which was seeking the appropriate mechanism to invite the Foreign Affairs Minister to Parliament.

Writer's email: Edmund.Asante@graphic.com.gh

This was first published by the Daily Graphic on July 1, 2014