A former National Democratic Congress (NDC's) Member of Parliament (MP) for Buem Constituency in the Oti Region, Mr. Daniel Ashiamah, has opened a can of worms in the life and sufferings of members of the second arm of government in the country.
According to him, as MP he was paying the fees of his constituents to the disadvantage of his immediate family.
"I was paying the medical school fees of people from my Constituency and failed to pay the secondary school fees of my son," he narrated.
"Whilst I was paying these huge sums of money as fees for people from my Constituency, my son was being sacked for my failure to pay his fees," he stated.
"I guess I must have forgotten about him because his fees were so so small in the schemes of fees I was paying for my constituents," he added.
"As an MP I took the decision not to use my allocation from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND) to pay fees for my children so my immediate family was suffering while my constituents were enjoying," he said.
The former MP who came to Parliament as a result of a by-election delved into the life of an MP speaking as a panelist on the discussion segment on Ghana Yensom morning show on Accra 100.5 FM hosted by Kwame Obeng Sarkodie on Friday, May 13, 2022.
"It looks prestigious from the outside but miserable being inside because of the wanton expenditures above MP's monthly salary," he said.
He explained that being a member of Ghana’s Legislature is one of the most miserable professions in the country.
"It is no joy being MP adding that it is a miserable profession in Ghana’s body politics," he stressed.
He maintained that from a meager salary MPs were paying for funeral donations, weddings among others
"I came to Parliament through a by-election and after all the work I did for the Constituency, they insisted I go for a term explaining how working as MP can be emotional and depressing.
"In this situation, if you have not planned your life what will you do," he queries.
He cautioned the young ones about their ordinate desire to enter Parliament adding that it is not easy being in Parliament.
"If you don’t have the vision to be in Parliament, you do not have any business being there," he warned.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
Honourable paaa, why worry. In Ghana MP is not compulsory, it's purely voluntary. Nobody forced anybody to stand for MP elections. We have teachers, nurses and civil servants who are paying not only their children's school fees but those of their poor relatives including their sisters and brothers children. Some have brought their deprived relations from the villages to the city centre to take care of their education from their meagre salaries. Count yourself lucky for having a free GETFUND allocation, virtual free car loan, sitting allowances and the almighty exgratia. When the crocodile devours it's prey you see tears flowing from the eyes, hold on, the crocodile is not weeping, it's rather tears of joy for having a free meal. MP is not by force, just ignore the adverts when election forms are out, simple and short . No wahala