The Privileges Committee of Parliament will today, Thursday, May 26, 2022, begin sitting on the case of some three absentee lawmakers.

They are MP for Dome Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo; MP for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyepong; and MP for Ayawaso Central, Henry Quartey.

The first to appear before the committee will be the MP for Ayawaso Central, followed by the Dome Kwabenya MP, who is scheduled to appear before the committee on Friday, 27 May 2022.

The Assin Central MP will be the last to appear before the committee on Tuesday, 31 May 2022. 

The Committee has two weeks to present its report to the House.

A former Member of Parliament for Kumbumgu Constituency, Mr Ras Mubarak, petitioned the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Bagbin, to enforce Article 97(1)c of the 1992 Constitution by referring some four MPs to the Privileges Committee for absenting themselves for more than 15 days without permission.

According to the ex-lawmaker, the Standing Orders of Parliament are not clear as to who can or should raise the matter of absenteeism on the floor of the House for a debate and, or referral by Mr Speaker to the Committee on Privileges but it is incidences like this, if unattended to, that threatens Ghana’s democracy.

Quoting an Afrobarometer data, Mr Mubarak said trust in Parliament has fallen by 12 per cent between 2002 and 2019.

The report, he said, ranked Parliament as the third corrupt institution in the country – just behind the police and judges.

“I humbly submit that democracy can only work if Parliament puts the common good ahead of party and personal interest. At a time of seeming collapse of trust in politics and Parliament as an institution, it is my fervent prayer that the House would rise to the occasion and be united on this matter, so as to uphold our constitution and also win back waned public confidence,” the petition stated. 

The Speaker of Parliament referred the matter to the Committee, following the absence of the MPs for more than fifteen days without permission.