Adwoa Sarfo’s position not declared vacant – Privileges Committee

The clerk of parliament has not been authorised to declare the position of Madam Sarah Adwoa Safo vacant, Mr Alhassan Bashir Fuseini, a Member of Parliament’s Privileges Committee has said.

Addressing the Press in Parliament on Thursday to debunk a report by some sections of the media, Mr Fuseini said: “There is no such report as I speak to you now because as a member of the committee if the report is put together I will be a preview to the report. We will also get it through our ranking member and his deputy.

“So, take it from me that the authentic story of the privilege committee as we speak now is that there is no report on the three referred members of Parliament,” he said.

Mr Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament on May 4 referred Madam Sarah Adwoa Safo, Member of Parliament (MP) Dome-Kwabenya; Mr Henry Quartey, MP Ayawaso Central and Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, MP Assin Central to the Privileges Committee for absenting themselves from 15 sittings of the House without his permission.

In his address, Mr Fuseini, who is also the MP for Sagnarigu, confirmed the committee meeting with Mr Quartey and Mr Agyapong, however, there was no opportunity for the members to meet with Madam Safo.

He said: “Let me also state in categorical terms that on the issue of Adwao Safo, the committee made it very clear that we had no opportunity of meeting her and we cannot condemn or acquit a person without giving the person a hearing.”

According to Mr Fuseini, the committee made efforts in reaching Madam Safo but the clerk of the committee “made it clear that he could not say for certain that parliament’s correspondence reached her,” he told the press.

“So, in unequivocal terms, the committee never at any point at any material moment made such attribution. Nothing could be farther from the truth; it is an absolute pathological lie.

“And I want to stand on behalf of the NDC members of the committee and state the facts of the committee that as we speak, there is no report of the committee,” he said.

Mr Fuseini quoted Standing Order 161, which governed regulations of the House that any recommendation by a committee would have to be put before the plenary as committees could not implement decisions.

He noted committees referred outcomes of meetings to the plenary for decisions to be made through the Speaker for a required action to be followed.

“The committee has not put together a report so how can you have a landlord where there is no house. How can there be a story of a report when there is no report,” he said.