The Member of Parliament for Gomoa Central, Kwame Asare Obeng, popularly known as A Plus, has stated that through firsthand experience, he now understands why MPs require sirens to beat traffic.
According to A Plus, while he vehemently opposed the advocacy by MPs to be given the legal right to use sirens, his few days in office as a legislator have given him the opportunity to change his mind.
“It is not an easy task at all. Today, for instance, I was with the President in my constituency. The Ahmadiyya Muslim community had their annual convention. You know it’s in my constituency; that’s where they have it—in Gomoa Pomadze. I had to be at the convention and in Parliament at the same time.
“I remember that before I entered Parliament, I was complaining about MPs and why they wanted sirens. I called my friend, who is a dispatch rider. I said, ‘Where are you?’ He said, ‘I am at my place.’ I said, ‘Please, I need you to take me out of this traffic and get me to the constituency now and bring me back to Parliament,’” A Plus stated during an interview on Joy FM.
He stated that the experience has given him the opportunity to understand why members of the legislature have been advocating to be allowed to use sirens, emphasizing the challenges they face in discharging their duties while managing to beat traffic.
“So I came to understand why they were… and can you imagine someone whose constituency is in, say, Paga, and you have to go there with the President and then come back to Parliament? I think that I am in a position to explain what happens in Parliament and what parliamentarians go through very well to the public,” he added.
A Plus, a musician and activist, was elected Member of Parliament for Gomoa Central in the 2024 parliamentary election as an independent candidate.
An attempt to pass a new law permitting the use of sirens by some government officials, including Members of Parliament, during the tenure of the previous Parliament failed after the policy attracted heavy public criticism.
GA/EK
