The Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu says he is worried over the rate with which experienced lawmakers are exiting parliament either voluntarily or were voted against in their respective parliamentary primaries.
He says Ghana is currently described as one of the three countries in the world with a high attrition rate in its parliament, a description he said subjected the country to global mockery.
“I am very much worried. Let us face it, we are becoming a laughing stock in the world because as I said, Ghana is one of three countries in the world with the highest attrition rate in our parliament, it is not a good description at all,” the Suame lawmaker who is also exiting Parliament voluntarily told Johnnie Hughes on the Sunrise show on 3FM Wednesday February 7.
The Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin also raised concerns about the exit of experienced Members of Parliament from the House.
Apart from Mr Kyie-Mensah-Bonsu, the other senior lawmakers who are exiting include First Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei Owusu and also Cletus Avoka who also decided not to seek re-election.
Others including Sagnarigu MP, ABA Fuseini and Bongo lawmaker Edward Bawa lost their bid to be parliamentary candidates again.
Making a comment in Parliament on Tuesday, February 6, Speaker Bagbin said “Honourable members, we woke up one Saturday, and by the evening, we had lost 28 MPs through the primaries of the NPP. Earlier last year, we lost 17 MPs through the primaries of the NDC.
“Honourable members, the primaries are part of the process for the electorates to determine who represents them in parliament. But the case of voluntary discontinuance of five and 19, followed by deselection of 17 and 28, is not a good signal for the legislature and for Ghana’s democratic development. Experience, as we all know, counts in this House, but the endorsement of your party is equally important.”
He added “Honourable members, the haemorrhage and cost to the nation, however, are matters of great concern worth considering by all stakeholders, and I want to appeal to the political parties to take this up seriously, because the investment that is made in an individual MP is so huge for the nation just to go to waste after every four years.”