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Covid-19 : Allow MPs to work from home - ACPJR urges Speaker of Parliament

By Wendy Amarteifio
Covid-19
Members of Parliament
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The African Centre of Parliamentary Journalism and Research (ACPJR) is calling on the Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Ocquaye to direct all Members of Parliament to work from home instead of converging at the House for business.

The ACPJR's call comes in the wake of the 16 confirmed cases of Covid-19 announced by the Ghana Health Service earlier today. 

According to ACPJR, many parliamentarians have been exposed to Coronavirus ridden countries this month alone, which he explained as the reason for his call.

The group is also demanding immediate fumigation of all parliamentary buildings to prevent further spread of the virus which has affected 16 persons in Ghana.

In a radio interview monitored by primenewsghana.com, Executive Director for African Centre for Parliamentary Journalism and Research (ACPJR) Harrison Kofi Belley, called on Prof Mike Oquaye to allow MPs work from home following the rapid spread of Covid-19 in Ghana

''I think in these difficult times, what I will recommend in parliamentary business is that, MPS must work from home looking at the number of staff in the parliamentary services besides the parliamentarians themselves. Is so huge that we don't need to joke with it. We have close to 800 parliamentary staff in there who are interacting with the Members of Parliament. So you can imagine, it has gove to the extent that the Speaker of Parliament is wearing face mask to the chamber. I will advise that they should start working from home or they should break them into smaller committees.

READ ALSO: Fighting Covid-19, Speaker directs MPs to wear face masks

Harrison Kofi Belley is also demanding immediate fumigation of all parliamentary buildings to prevent further spread of the virus which has affected 16 persons in Ghana.

He also called for Members of Parliament who have travelled outside the country and back into the country to be quarantined and not be part of parliamentary business for now

''I think that Members of Parliament who have travelled in recent times should be quarantined. We are picking information that some of these Members who travelled within this period are back, not quarantined and are engaging in parliamentary business which shouldn't be so. This is too serious, we shouldn't take this thing lightly''.

READ ALSO:Ghana's Covid-19 cases now 16