The Africa Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA) has urged politicians to be mindful and wary of their choice of words when communicating to the public as they could be deepening the lack of trust and belief in the political class.
It noted that the negative view held by Ghanaians against the politicians could be worsened by comments from leading politicians such as the recent statement by Minority Leader, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin.
“Already Ghanaians have a lot of distrust in politicians and such comments deepen the perception which sends wrong signals in the system,” he said.
The Executive Director of ACEPA, Dr Rashid Dramani said this in an interview with GhanaWeb on the Minority Leader’s request for a hospital and a chamber for Parliament.
He stated that over the years the chamber of Parliament has witnessed renovations and that there was no need for a new chamber adding that the current chamber ranks among the best on the continent and beyond.
The issue of a new chamber for Parliament arose during the swearing-in of the Parliamentary Service Board on Monday, March 17, 2025 where Afenyo-Markin suggested that the existing structure has outlived its usefulness.
“Mr. Speaker, there are two things that I hope for in this Ninth Parliament. One is a hospital for Parliament. If it does happen, according to your vision, it will be a great milestone. We are a political class, and our health issues must be known within certain confines. Because of confidentially issues, people travel abroad at great costs for medical support. I believe if we are able to deal with this, it will help,”,” he explained.
However, Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga rejected the proposals, citing Ghana’s struggling economy as a reason such projects would be unjustifiable at this time.
He insisted that given the pressing economic challenges facing the country, a new chamber and a hospital for MPs were not priorities.
VA/EK
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