Ningo Prampram MP, Mr Samuel Nartey George has questioned the integrity of some of his colleague lawmakers who, he claimed are marked as having attended parliament even when they fail to do so without permission.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, 13 June 2019, Mr George condemned the act and asked the culprits to set good examples.

Per Ghana’s parliamentary best practice, an MP is supposed to notify the Speaker, through his side’s leadership, of his/her inability to attend sittings.

Once that is done, he/she can be marked as having been present in the house, according to Class91.3FM’s parliamentary reporter Ekow Annan.

If a member fails to notify the Speaker of his/her inability to attend a sitting, that MP is deemed to have been absent.

Mr George, who expressed strong reservations about the manipulation of the register, said: “Mr Speaker, this is an honourable House of Parliament; can we all be truthful to ourselves and God that if you take today’s votes and proceedings, the names marked present were really present in this chamber?

“There are some names that we can mention here that are marked present every day but we have never seen them her; even state of the nation address, they don’t attend.”

He asked: “Is it that there is a way to get yourself marked present even when you are not present?

“Maybe, because I’m a first-time member, I have not been initiated yet. We need to really look at this carefully and find a true way of marking members present whether they are in the chamber or committee level”.