One of the most important requirements of the 1992 Constitution is to have persons elected into offices to manage our affairs. We elect the president who forms his government to form the Executive Arm of Government. We elect Members of Parliament (MPs) who will represent us in Parliament who become the Legislative Arm of Government. The third arm of government, which is the Judiciary, is not an elective position but by appointment. These three arms of government are the most important in the governance of our country under this constitutional democracy.
The Member of Parliament (MP)
Lately, the MPs have been having a bad day in this country. Most electorate find them to be useless and corrupt. To the electorate, the MP was voted for and sent to bring developments and goodies to the community, but everything remains as they were, if not even worse. Bad roads, poor pipe-borne water delivery, poor sanitation, no health post and/or medical facilities, and the list goes on.
It does not occur to the electorate that all of the above are not the responsibilities of the MP, but of the Metropolitan/ Municipal/District Chief Executive (MMDCE), and that the role of the MP in the Constitution is to go to Parliament and make laws and make sure that the Executive arm is put on its toes in discharging its duties. The MP can only lobby for development, but not do the development.
This misconception can be blamed on both the electorate and the parliamentary candidate, because, during campaigning for the seat, the electorate will demand and the candidate will promise developments. The candidate is not being honest here, because he or she knows that it will not be their responsibility to do these, but knowing very well that speaking the truth could cost them their chances of winning the seat, they make promises. The electorate cannot claim to be that ignorant either, because there are educated ones among them who can read the Constitution.
Maybe the government must empower the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to tour all the terrain of the country and educate all Ghanaians on the roles of the MPs and that of the MMDCEs, by this way, the MPs will be spared.
The demands on a candidate during electioneering campaigns is so huge that he or she could easily spend not less that GH¢1,000,000 giving out monies or goodies to groups and institutions in the constituency, even including members of his or her own party.
When he/she loses the elections he/she must find all means possible to repay the loans he/she might have contracted to fund his/her campaign. When he/she wins, he/she will also find ways of repaying, and this is where his/her problems begin. The electorate will not understand why he/she is no longer minding them, seeing some transformation in his/her lifestyle. Leaving this aside for another day, many are calling MPs callous, arrogant and even corrupt, and swear they will make sure he or she never gets another term in the House. Today, we hear of how corrupt the MPs are, and it is as if they no longer matter in the lives of the ordinary Ghanaian, to the extent that their protection, which is guaranteed in the 1992 Constitution but has been overlooked, is even regarded unimportant, even in an era where, at least, two MPs have been killed within four years.
The way the electorate considers MPs to be bad, and, in fact, to the extent of even making it seem that they are non-Ghanaians, is very alarming and inconsiderate.
It is very important to know that the MP comes from the electorate, and no matter the number of times MPs are changed, so long as the status quo remains, the same results will remain. The MP will be sent to Parliament to bring development, but he just can’t do that, because it is not his responsibility; the demands on him when he was a candidate will make the MP go HIPC, and he must find ways to pay off his indebtedness, if he is to survive. It is the electorate who collects the money, and to some extent, sells his or her votes to the candidate. So who is corrupt here, the MP or the electorate?
Giving that the electorates are themselves corrupt, how can we get a better replacement from their lot.
If we, the electorate, will cease demanding from and collecting cash and kind from the parliamentary candidate, we can have the moral right to demand accountability from our MPs. After all, if the candidate gives an average of GH¢10 to, say, 15,000 members of his constituency, we are here talking of GH¢1,500,000 spent on freebies alone. The question is what is GH¢10 in the life of an individual to sell his or her votes for? But certainly, GH¢1,500,000 is such a huge debt in the life of an MP. If such demands are not made on him/her, he/she can borrow this amount in his/her capacity as MP to invest in an income generating project in his constituency that will bring employment there.
On Tuesday, February 9, 2016, Hon J.B. Danquah-Adu (MP) was murdered in his home. It was an election year. On Friday, October 9, 2020, Hon Ekow Quansah Hayford(MP) was also murdered in an election year. Some NDC activists shared another member’s post, which unfortunately read something like “NPP MPs Die Every Election Year.” Whatever the author and distributor want to imply is very obvious.
When JB died there were lots of cries from Parliament demanding armed security guards for each MP. This was not considered until four years later another MP fell in cold blood. The Minister of the Interior, on this note, indicated that each parliamentarian without guards will be given armed police guards, and this worked out to be two hundred police officers going over to protect MPs.
A security expert was heard saying that two hundred police officers moved out from their beats to protect MPs will adversely affect security in general in this country. I wonder where this security person got this idea from, because with two hundred police officers now visibly seen at two hundred different locations across the country, we will have two hundred more areas now safe from criminals.
Aside from that, is this security person knowledgeable about the constitutional requirements for the protection of our MPs? Now many Ghanaians have started talking as if the protection of our MPs is not important.
The members of the Executive Arm of Government have police protection. Members of the Judiciary Arm of Government have police protection, but why not the Members of the Legislature Arm of Government?
Some are also saying that with armed robbery and killings going on, the MPs could not invite the Interior Minister to the House for questioning. However, as soon as an MP was killed, they were able to summon the Minister to the House to answer questions.
Well, looking at things, it is also the responsibility of the electorates, especially those in armed robbery endemic areas, to invite and put pressure on their MPs, so that they can also call the Minister to the House.
Anyway, whatever is the case, we the electorates decided to put people to the House to become our MPs, no one was forced on us, but we had multiple choices to choose from, and we collectively decided on one. He or she became our choice, and if we start having problems with the MP, it is for us to either wait for the next elections to change them, or pass a vote of no confidence in him/her in order that we have a bye-election to replace him/her. Unfortunately, if the replacement becomes just as the one before or even worse, then we should know that we are the problem. We need to change our ways.
The Police
Are the Ghana Police not efficient enough to crack down on high crimes? Why is it that whenever a police officer is murdered, within a short time the culprits are arrested, but that is not the case when civilians are killed? Ninja and Taller were well known policemen who were killed and buried under concrete by armed land guards. It did not take long for the culprits to be found and arrested.
Some Canadians were kidnapped in Kumasi, and within a short time, they were rescued by the Ghana police, however, it was not the case of the three Takoradi girls. What could be the matter here?
One could report scammers to the police, and before they move it could take days, and can one imagine that on one such case, while the victims were in the police facility, the scammers could call them and demand to know why they went to the police to report of the scam. What could be the matter here? It is sad that we have cases of policemen engaging in armed robbery.
These are issues those so-called security experts should be addressing, and not condemning the issue of giving every MP a police guard.
There should be a new scheme of intake into the Police Service so that only those who are actually qualified get into the service. Protocol lists can still be entertained, however, those to come in through that arrangement must be examined thoroughly to find out whether they truly qualify.
The protocol arrangement is very important because when we put someone into Parliament we demand he or she puts our wards through to the police, army, etc. So when such opportunity comes and he takes it we must give the blessing.
President J.A. Kufuor, in his wisdom, established the Community Police who took over ordinary law and order issues in the community, while the general police focussed more on high crimes. Unfortunately, the NDC came and scrapped this. In addition, there used to Neighbourhood Watch Dog Committees, but for some reasons, members on these committees got trapped in shoot-outs between the police and armed robbers, and some got killed, that ended this committee.
For security in this country to thrive, we will need both the community police and the neighbouring watch dog committees to work alongside the police.
There are many, many good officers in the Police Service and they must be given the opportunity to shine, and we must appreciate them. The bad nuts must be purified so that in the end the civilian will gain confidence in them and can tip off the police when any crime takes place. There is no security system that is very efficient and effective without tip offs.
In all things, we must appreciate our MPs and protect them.
Hon. Daniel Dugan
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Chronicle’s editorial stance
The post The MP, the Police and Protection appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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