Former President, John Dramani Mahama, has asked the government to halt the proposed building of constituency offices for MPs until the economy is out of the woods.

In a Facebook post, Mahama mentioned that in the interim office spaces can be found within the District Assemblies or other government buildings for the purpose.

“The proposed building of Constituency offices for MPs should be shelved until the economy is out of the woods. In the interim, office space can be found within the District Assemblies or other government buildings for the purpose.

“In our current economic state, public funds must go into projects that are necessary and which meet the pressing needs of our people in the communities. Such projects must have tangible and measurable impact on job creation and national development,” Mahama posted on Facebook.

Presenting the 2022 budget on the floor of Parliament in December 2021, Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta revealed that the construction of constituency offices for all 275 Members of Parliament is expected to start in 2022 in phases.

The move, according to the Minister, is one of the many activities being undertaken under the Parliamentary Service Office Support Project (PSOSP) to strengthen Parliament and boost the work of the legislators.

“The PSOSP will be fully completed in 2022. Phase I of the construction of constituency offices for Members of Parliament will commence in 2022.”

“In 2022, Parliament will upgrade ICT facilities in the Debating Chamber and Committee meeting rooms to improve the quality of video and replace consoles to improve feed for live broadcast of proceedings… Other projects at various stages of completion are: the e-Parliament project; Phase II of the Table Office MIS; the Data Centre; and the operationalisation of the Budget and Fiscal Analysis Office,” Ken Ofori Atta said.