In recent times, public trust in Ghana’s Parliament is gradually diminishing at a fast pace, after several allegations have been levelled against the House by no less mean than both sitting and past Members of Parliament (MPs) and citizen Vigilante, a former Attorney-General & Minister of Justice, Mr. Martin Alamisi Amidu.
The latest bribery allegation which took the nation by storm is said to be the “last stroll that broke the camel’s back.” Many individuals, non-governmental organisations, civil society groups and anti-corruption agencies have spoken extensively on the issue for weeks, with some describing the exposé as shameful.
The Ghanaian public developed so much interest in the case and called for an independent body to delve into the matter. But Parliament decided to constitute its own committee within the confines of the House to probe the allegation(s) by some members of the minority caucus on the Appointments Committee to influence their earlier stand not to approve the appointment of now Energy Minister, Mr. Boakye Agyarko.
After the hue and cry by the public over the parliamentary ad-hoc committee, the sitting of the committee was made public to the extent of giving it a live coverage on some prime television and radio stations, all in an attempt to make the general public believe in the outcome of their findings.
But hey, after witnessing the proceedings on a number of occasions; we should all be active citizens and not passive spectators by calling for an independent inquiry into the bribery allegation despite the Joe Ghartey led Ad-Hoc Committee. Because my little knowledge in law has this famous Latin dictum “Nemo judex in causa sua” which means “no one should be a judge in his own cause.”
With all intents and purposes, is Parliament being a judge in its own court? A casual look at the composition of the five-member committee made up of Hon. Ben Abdallah Banda – MP for Offinso South; Hon. Magnus Kofi Amoatey – MP, Yilo Krobo; Hon Ama Pomaa Boateng – MP, Juaben, and; Hon. Benson Tongo Baba – Talensi and its Chairman, Hon. Joe Ghartey – Essikado Ketan, looking into the bribery allegation depicts a clear case of “Nemo judex in causa sua” all these people are parliamentarians. There is also an Akan adage which says “No one uses his left finger to point to the direction of his father’s village.”
We are all living testimonies, especially those who had the opportunity to watch the sittings of the committee either from the comfort of their homes or in offices, shops and on the streets, will agree that there was nothing new apart from the old narrations we heard on the floor of the House before the committee was set-up.
Again, do members of the committee have any investigative skills deployed by the committee members to unearth the truth or otherwise of the matter? Unlike some investigative bodies like the BNI, CID, and CHRAJ which have the skills as well as the tools to investigate such issues.
The question is what have become of the numerous investigations and enquires carried out by same organisations which are either accused of one wrong doing or another? On the first day of sitting, Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Joe Ghartey, told the whole world that Parliament has the mandate to set-up a committee to investigate issues of such nature.
However, what the chairman failed to acknowledge was that the good book- Bible- which we all affirmed our faith in tells us in 1 Corinthians Chapter 6:12: “I have the right to do anything, you say-but not everything is beneficial.”
This, I believe, should be our guiding principle in our day-to-day activities as a nation, organisations or individuals.
Ironically some members on the committee cited institutions like the military, police, etc., which have the powers to set up committee of enquiry similar to that of the ad-hoc committee of Parliament, but we all know the outcome of such committees by the military and police. Their findings have always been rejected by the public for want of fairness.
Folks, what readily comes to mind are the findings of committees set up by the military and police to look into the brutalities of police on innocent citizens at Taifa, a suburb of Accra, the military manhandling of a journalist from Ghanaian Times at the Black Star Square? They all fell flat. So if the findings of the above institutions were anything to go by why should Parliament repeat those same style of doing things that the public have very little or no faith in.
Allegations of corruption throughout history are not without political spectacles. For example, in Brazil former President Dilma Rousseff was impeached and removed from office in August 2016. The allegation of corruption, which claimed her political life, plummeted her approval rate from 79% in March 2013 to about 10% in March 2016.
That means that allegations have implications on political fortunes. The BBC source went further to explain that “Ms. Rousseff was accused of breaking fiscal laws. She was found guilty of moving funds between government budgets, which is illegal under Brazilian law. Her critics said she was trying to plug deficit holes in popular social programmes to boost her chances of being re-elected for a second term in October 2014. Ms. Rousseff denied having done anything illegal and said that moving money between budgets was common practice among her predecessors in office.”
Let us not forget that the Brazilian legislature is bicameral. The Federal Legislative Power structure is spelt out by articles 44-75 of the constitution of that country. The Upper House is known as the Senate and the Lower House known as Chamber of Deputies. Now the question is, if a complex and a well-balanced legislative structure in Brazil is still not without partisan biases how can we trust the highly divisive and ‘rubber-stump’ Parliament of Ghana to be its own judge.
This means that it would have been more appropriate to settle the matter under discussion at the judiciary. This, I believe, would have strengthened the checks and balances we all yearn for. After the bribery allegation broke out, there have been denials from both camps. But as the saying goes ‘there is no smoke without fire.’ Therefore, probing into the allegation is a step in the right direction but I think it would have been very prudent if the judicial or any of the state investigations bodies had carried out the inquiry into the matter or an independent commission of inquiry.
In all sincerity Parliament cannot be its own judge on such issues of national importance. Corruption is an offence punishable by the law, thus, either an independent commission of inquiry or judicial investigation would have been appropriate because it is only the court which has the mandate to interpret laws and prescribe punishment for those who violate both criminal and civil laws of Ghana. Parliament has no such powers.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.
