[ 2012-08-07 ]

Joe Osei Owusu

Bekwai MP: Parliamentary rules frustrating MPs
The Member of Parliament for Bekwai in the Ashanti
Region, Joe Osei Owusu, has expressed frustration
at the rules limiting the number of questions MPs
are allowed to ask, during such important
occasions as the vetting of ministerial and other
high profile nominees.

According to the Independent MP, parliamentary
rules prevent the nation’s legislators from fully
exploring any line of questioning to its logical
conclusion with follow up questions, because there
is a limit to the number of questions they can
ask.

Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem on Tuesday August
7, 2012, Mr. Osei Wusu complained: “At such fora
MP’s are limited to just two questions. I’m a
lawyer with over 20 years practice, and if I have
to vet a man who is in his sixties and I’m limited
to just two questions, how can I ask all the
questions?”

He was commenting a day after the historic vetting
of Vice President Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur
in Parliament, during which he was subjected to
questioning on a wide range of issues bordering on
his professional and personal life, to determine
his suitability for the second highest office in
the land.

Mr. Osei Wusu, who asked the ‘taboo’ question of
Mr. Amissah Arthur’s alleged homosexuality, said
it was crucial that the question be asked because
the Vice President is a heartbeat away from the
Presidency and it would be wrong to have such a
cloud hanging over his head.

“I think it was important that we give him an
opportunity to answer the insinuations over his
alleged homosexuality,” he stated adding, the fact
that everyone shied away from asking directly for
an answer was a sign of the “hypocrisy” in the
Ghanaian society.

“If I had been given the opportunity, I would have
explored it to the fullest. Whether I am satisfied
with his answer is immaterial. The most important
thing is that the matter is in the public domain
and it is being discussed.”

He also dismissed assertions, particularly on
social media platform facebook, that Ghana’s MP’s
are not educated enough to ask the appropriate
questions of nominees who appear before the
Parliamentary Vetting Committee.

“Every MP is a specialist in something before he
comes to Parliament. If the question elicits a
deep and detailed answer, it is a reflection of
the gravity of the question. It doesn’t
necessarily have to be a long winding question,”
he insisted.

Source - Joy News

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