MPs should be purely for legislation – Jirapa MP as he urges constitutional review

The Member of Parliament for the Jirapa constituency, Cletus Seidu Dapilah, has asserted that the 1992 Constitution should be amended so that members of parliament can only be lawmakers in parliament and not ministers.

The Honourable Cletus Dapilah made this assertion following the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary primaries held on January 27, 2024, which led to some sitting Members of Parliament losing their seats.

He argued that the constitutional provision that allows the President to choose more than 50% of ministers from parliament is the reason why lots of people go to parliament; hence, that provisional clause must be amended.

“The problem is that we have to amend the constitution. If you are an MP, you are purely for legislation so that you don’t become a minister,” the MP said in an interview on GHOne TV on Monday.

“We need to have this conversation. The media and stakeholder think tanks should begin this conversation so that we can amend that clause. So if you are an MP, your business is legislation. Even the common funds should be taken away so that your business as an MP or your core mandate is to make laws,” he added.

Hon. Dapilah said that the amendment of the provisional clause will enable members of various constituencies to understand that their elected members of parliament mandates are not for development but to make laws.

“…so that ministers, the executives, and the DCEs will be in charge of development. So that your people will know that we are sending this man to parliament purely to go and make laws and not for development.”

Siding with the Member of Parliament for the Jirapa constituency, the Head Pastor for the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), the Joy Temple, Rev. Dr. Godson Ahiabor, advised that a national dialogue should be held on the decoupling of the provisional clause.

“I think we should have a national dialogue on this. I personally think that if it is decoupled, it will help, so the government will have the chance. If he wants to be appointed to parliament, fine. It shouldn’t be like you are bound to appoint 50 or more percent.”

“It should be such that the government should have a free hand to pick from the best people, either from outside parliament or within parliament,” he highlighted.

He emphasised that decoupling the provisional clause and having a national dialogue will educate the people of the constituencies and help them understand the mandates of their representatives in parliament, reducing the pressure.

Former Member of Parliament for Anyaa-Sowutuom, Dickson Adomako, also mentioned that, as part of the things that need to be decoupled, the government must also improve their social programmes for constituencies, excluding the offices of the members of parliament.

“What I mean by social programmes is assistance that we render to people. If there is an office of government, a social protection office, that is empowered to do more, people will not be coming to the legislative office for those things, and that will relieve us also,” Hon. Adomako explained.