Kofi Bentil,Vice President of IMANI Africa, has raised concerns on the seeming importance of getting parliamentary representation for Dome-Kwabenya Constituency in the Greater Accra Region over people in Santrofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL) who do not even have a Member of Parliament (MP).
He bemoaned that while Dome-Kwabenya constituents had been denied representation due to the long absence of Sarah Adwoa Safo, their MP, from her duties, SALL constituents did not participate in the parliamentary elections in the 2020 elections because the Electoral Commission (EC) suspended voting because of the creation of the Guan District which hitherto was part of the Hohoe District.
“Prominence should not be given to organising a bye-election to replace Ms Safo as the MP for Dome-Kwabenya as if people in authority cared and every intention to conduct any bye-election should first start with those in SALL who have not had representation in Parliament for close to two years,” he pointed out.
.Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, deferred ruling on the issue until Parliament reconvenes from recess in October however, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo also recently relieved Ms Safo of her post as Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection.
According to Mr Bentil, those in authority cannot pretend to care for the proper representation of Dome-Kwabenya Constituency when they do not care that there was no representation at all for the people of SALL which was a more serious problem and indicated that there could be no justification to hold any by-election anywhere unless the election at SALL were completed first.
“We are all Ghanaians, equal under the law and all deserve representation in Parliament and Adwoa Safo has been in the news recently following her long absence from the country and away from her parliamentary duties depriving her constituents of lack of representation in the House.
“Her actions has currently necessitated the Majority Caucus pushing for her seat to be declared vacant while the Minority Caucus are against the move following her failure to appear before the Privilege Committee of Parliament to explain why she has been absent without permission for such a long time,” Mr Bentil noted.
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