Adwoa Sarfoa, Kennedy Agyapong, Quartey to face Parliamentary Privileges Committee

Mr Alban Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, has referred three Members of Parliament to the Parliamentary Privileges Committee for absenting themselves from over fifteen sittings of the House.

The Members of Parliament (MP) are Madam Sarah Adwoa Safo, MP Dome-Kwabenya; Mr Henry Quartey, MP Ayawaso Central and Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, MP Assin Central.

According to the Speaker, the absence of the three MPs without his permission constituted a breach of the rules of the House.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Bagbin urged the committee to provide its report to the house two weeks after the House reconvened from recess.

Mr Ras Mubarak, a former MP for Kumbumgu Constituency, petitioned the Speaker of Parliament to deal with the matter of absenteeism in the House.

He referred to Madam Sarah Adwoa Safo; Mr Henry Quartey, Mr Ebenezer Kojo Kum; MP for Ahanta West and Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyepong as flouting provisions of Article 97(1)(c) of the Constitution

and Parliament’s Standing Order 16(1) which frowned on Members absenting themselves for 15 sitting days without permission from the Speaker.

Per Article 97(1)(c) of the 1992 Constitution, a Member of Parliament shall vacate his or her seat “if he is absent, without the permission in writing of the Speaker, and he or she is unable to offer a reasonable explanation to the Parliamentary Committee on Privileges from fifteen sittings of a meeting of Parliament during any period that Parliament has been summoned to meet and continues to meet.”

The petition copied the leadership of both sides of the House.

Mr Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, Minority Chief Whip, said according to Parliament’s Hansard, four New Patriotic Party MPs had flouted the rule on absenteeism and should be made to appear before the Privileges Committee of the House.