Parliament goes on a 3-month break without punishing Ken Agyapong

Parliament of Ghana on Saturday, July 28, 2018, proceeded on a three-month break without taking action on the Privileges Committee report after an inquiry into the allegations of contempt against Assin Central MP, Ken Agyapong.

The Privileges Committee chaired by the first deputy speaker of Parliament Joseph Osei Owusu found Ken Agyapong guilty of contempt for saying that Parliament was a useless institution.

The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu explained that Parliament did not act on the report because the house wants to recessed without any tensions.

“We had a pre-sitting meeting and we said we wanted to leave on a very good note so we decided that when we come back, we would then come and consider the matter… we all felt that we should leave on a point and on issues that bind us together rather than issues that divide us,” he told the media.

Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, however, stated that an emergency meeting on September 10, may be used to take a decision on the maverick Parliamentarian.

“We had a pre-sitting meeting and we said we wanted to leave on a very good note so we decided that when we came back we then come and consider the [recommendation]…it is likely we will come on the 10^th of September, if we do, we should put the matter to rest.

The committee in its latest report has revealed that a vote was cast to determine which sanction should be imposed on the MP.

The vote resulted in a split ballot, following which the Committee has recommended to Parliament to make the final decision in determining whether a reprimand or a suspension should be imposed on Ken Agyapong.

Part of the report read, “The Committee noted the apology rendered by the Member and therefore did not consider expulsion as a sanction to be imposed. The Committee was however in favour of either a reprimand or a suspension. After extensive deliberations, the Committee put the two options to a vote. Out of a total membership of thirty-one (31), twenty (20) Members were present at the time of the voting. Ten (10) Members voted in favour of reprimand as a sanction and ten (10) Members voted in favour of suspension as a sanction. In view of the split ballot, the Committee recommends to the House to determine which of the two sanctions to be imposed on the Hon. Ken Agyapong”.