Politics of Monday, 29 June 2020

Source: mynewsgh.com

Broke MPs need contracts to take care of constituents – Kennedy Agyapong

Kennedy Agyapong, MP, Assin Central Kennedy Agyapong, MP, Assin Central

Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong has advised Ministers and other government officials to give contracts to broke Members of Parliament (MPs) so they can become empowered to swallow the litany of demands from Constituents.

After the just ended parliamentary primaries of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), some 41 of them lost their seats to virtually new faces and personalities who occupy Chief Executive positions in some influential state institutions.

According to political watchers, this spells doom for the NPP because it’s an indication that the masses are clamouring for change which will be visited on them in the December 7 elections.

But speaking on Atinka TV in an interview, Kennedy Agyapong said he has on several occasions suggested that there is the need for government to consider Members of Parliament when awarding contracts.

According to him, if these contracts are handed over to the Members of Parliament, they will be provided with some form of funding in order to satisfy the needs of their constituents so it’s imperative that people who have been put in positions of influence give the Members of Parliament contracts so they can make extra monies apart from their salaries.

He noted that this is the only way the incessant change in Members of Parliament (MPs) every four years can stop because these lawmakers will be empowered to address the problems of their constituents.

“Akufo-Addo has given you people positions as Ministers and CEOs don’t wait for him to tell you to give the contracts to the party’s MPs so that monies they make will be used to address the challenges at the constituencies. Don’t give them to businessmen for MPs to be chasing them for GH¢20,000 and less.” He stated adding, ” if the party had protected the MPs by giving them contracts, they would have not lost the elections”

“The party failed these MPs I must say. If they did not protect some of them by disallowing a contest, some more would have lost their seats. If your government comes to power and you’re not appointed a Minister, you’ll suffer and be begging for support from people because the demands are not easy,” he said in an interview on Atinka TV.

Parliament is difficult so I get shocked when I see people fighting over being Parliamentarians. This should be a lesson to the Party that when they come to power they need to support the MPs by giving them contracts so that the monies they make from these contracts will be used to handle issues in their constituencies.”