The Deputy Ranking Member on Privileges Committee of Parliament, Nana Amoako has indicated that there is no provision in the constitution or the standing orders of Parliament that check conduct of Members of Parliament (MPs) outside the floor of the house.
This, he explained that, the Privileges Committee cannot drag the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North, Kennedy Agyapong before the Committee for his ‘abusive language’ on the airwaves.
The MP in the past weeks engaged in verbal insults with Valentina Nana Agyeiwaa known as‘Afia Shwazeneggar’.
‘You see there is none of such things in our standing orders or constitution that if a Member of Parliament (MP) uses abusive language in the media, he /she should be brought to the Privileges Committee,’ he said.
According to him, Ghanaians could only petition the Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Edward Doe Adjaho for redress.
‘Whatever the person has said it’s his/her personal views, if anybody or any Ghanaian feels offended by the comments, they could write to the Speaker of Parliament and then the Speaker has the option of referring the case to the Privileges Committee; we cannot write the letters ourselves and invite him,’ he stated.
Speaking on Ultimate breakfast hosted by Prince Minkah, he observed that only a minute of MPs engage in abusive verbal language outside Parliament.
‘It’s a very minute persons or individuals who sometimes go off. For Kennedy Agyapong, as friends, we could advise him on some of these things. But as I said there are no standing orders that state that he has brought Parliament into disrepute. He is doing something on his own; he did not say anything against Parliament. It was individual battle that they were having,’ he emphasised.
Nana Amoako stated that the onerous task lies on National Media Commission (NMC) to sanitise the airwaves and not Parliament.
‘When you are having abusive language being used in the media, it’s not the Parliament that has to regulate it, they have to cover a law and bring it to Parliament, and then we have to put it on as a part of our laws, NMC and others have those things, they came out with some modalities not long ago, those are the things I think they need to enforce,’ he suggested.
Source: GhanaWeb
