A well-known economist by the name of Kwame Pianim has advocated against giving salaries to members of parliament (MPs) who refuse to carry out their legislative duties in order to oppose circumstances with which they are happy.
He stated that a lawmaker has no right to skip out on the legislative session.
“A member of parliament has no right to skip meetings of the House of Commons. According to what he stated on the News 360 programme that aired on TV3 on July 19, “if they boycott parliament, their allowances should be taken away.”
He continued by saying, “Parliament is young, and there is a tendency now to put a lot of burden on the fledgling judiciary, which is not fair.”
He was reacting to the Minority in Parliament’s decision to boycott parliamentary proceedings in protest of James Gyakye Quayson’s trial, a member of parliament who represents the Assin North constituency.
According to the Minority, they have come to the conclusion that they will retaliate against the government’s escalation of what they refer to as Mr. Quayson’s ‘persecution’ in reaction to the response.
Don’t pay MPs who boycott parliament
The opposition lawmakers issued a statement in which they said, “Following a request by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame, that Hon. James Gyakye Quayson be tried on a daily basis, the High Court has ruled that it will continue to hear the case daily.
This is despite an application for a stay of proceedings and a pending application before the Court of Appeal against the daily trial.
“In essence, the orders handed down by the High Court have placed the Honorable James Gyakye Quayson in the same situation that he was placed in by the Supreme Court before the Assin North Constituency by-election.
“What amount of time will the Member of Parliament have to attend to the business of the Parliament in order to represent the people of Assin North if he is required to appear in court every weekday for the duration of the trial?”
Therefore, at this moment, we are exploring all of the defense and protection methods that are at our disposal in order to safeguard our colleague.
James Gyakye Quayson, is the only individual who has ever been elected to Parliament more than once within the course of a single term. He began his political career by winning the parliamentary election for the Assin North Constituency in the year 2020.
However, after two and a half years, the Supreme Court pronounced that election invalid. This resulted in a by-election being held on the 27th, which he won once again with an overwhelming 57.56% of the vote.
On Tuesday, July 18, an Accra High Court rejected Mr. Quayson’s attempt to suspend the proceedings of his criminal prosecution pending the outcome of his appeals to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The application was filed on July 18.
Because of this, the prosecution’s first witness was able to be subjected to the defence’s cross-examination.
Abraham Amaliba, one of Mr. Quayson’s attorneys who represented him, questioned the credibility of the prosecution’s first witness in the criminal trial of Mr. Quayson.
“He stated under oath that his statement was written in English, [but] it turned out that when he was presented his own statement, he spoke in Twi and it was recorded; that calls into question the reliability of the witness, and that calls into question the witness’s state of mind.
Following the conclusion of the court proceeding on Tuesday, July 18, he addressed the media and stated, “So clearly, you notice that the prosecution witness was not helpful to the prosecution at all.”