The Speaker of Parliament has asked the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ghana Police Service to accord sitting Members of Parliament the respect and go by procedures required by law when seeking to interrogate them or search their homes as part of any investigations the MPs may be involved in.
Professor Mike Oquaye has subsequently directed the former deputy power minister, John Jinapor not to report to the police next week Monday as asked by the CID on Friday.
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The CID has since Monday stormed the residences of some former government appointees who are connected with the Ameri deal. According to the CID, the former government officials are being investigated for causing financial loss to the state.Â
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Residences of former Power Minister Kwabena Donkor, a former technical adviser at the Energy Ministry, Francis Gyata, Deputy Energy Minister John Jinapor and former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General have been searched by the CID.
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The Minority has condemned the action and described it as an attempt by the government to silence vociferous members of the minority
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Addressing concerns raised by the Minority over the raids, the Speaker insisted that the right procedures should be followed in dealing with the issue like this in future. By law, the police are required to inform and seek the consent of the Speaker in cases involving sitting members of parliament. He further stated that actions taken by the police against MPs should not impede their ability to function in Parliament.
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 The Ameri deal is a $510 million contract signed between the Government of Ghana and Ameri Energy during the power crisis for the supply of gas turbines to Ghana. It was to provide additional power to the national grid to ease the debilitating load shedding exercise that plagued the country at the time.
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