Minority Would Be Perpetrating Fraud If They Are Absent From Parliament

Dr. Micheal Kpessah White of the political Science department of the University of Ghana has said that, if the Minority in Parliament fails to stay in the Chamber to participate in the President�s state of the Nation Address on Thursday; �they would be perpetrating fraud on Ghanaians�. ��if they stay in the chamber�they would be doing the right thing, they would be representing the interest of the people who elected them. They would really be giving practical meaning to their honorable title that normally comes with their names or the kind of description we give to people who sit in that house,� he stated. Dr. White was commenting on what Ghanaians should expect with regards to the President�s state of the Nation Address to Parliament as mandated in Article 67 of the 1992 constitution. According to him, he would want the President to inspire the nation about the difficulties and challenges we face today, not withstanding, we can rise above the challenges as a united Nation. It is the desire of Dr. Kpessah for the leader of the Nation to rally us and demonstrate his inclusive nature in words and his speech. He wants to hear the President touch on the issue of erratic water and electricity supply, which have become part of public discourse in recent times. And would very much be interested in the vision of the President because, in his words, �your vision of society is what informs the kind of politics you pursue�. Above all the political scientist promises to follow proceedings keenly to know the President�s plans for �investment in education, health care, infrastructure and the economy�. And why he (the President) wants to �put the tax payer�s money� into those sectors. On the issue of the boycott of proceedings by the minority, Dr. White stressed the fact that, NPP as a party is not in court. Individuals from the NPP are challenging the Presidential results so he does not see the link between the case brought forward to the court by the three individuals and the party as an institution taking a position not to participate in the legislature. He added that the minority would have �perpetrated fraud on Ghanaians� if they absent themselves from Parliament, because they are withdrawing their income from the public purse. In his view, it would be in the interest of the NPP and their electoral fortunes, not to extent their absence at the appointments committee sitting to the state of the Nation Address since much of the budgetary allocations or statements that would follow would be based on the state of the Nation Address itself. He was hopeful of the NPP changing its stands on the issue and come to parliament to join their colleagues in the NDC despite the fact that there are no signs of that. The head of the Political science department of the University of Ghana admonished all politicians to bear in mind that, their actions and conduct largely inform how foreigners see us and if we intend to represent our people by encouraging investors and create jobs for our people, be it on either side of parliament.