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We cannot punish MPs who took NLA cash - Parliament
The Director of Public Affairs said that members of the committee that were involved in the act belonged to the 6th parliament which ceased to function immediately the 7th parliament came into being on January 7, 2017.
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Kate Addo said that members of the committee that were involved in the act belonged to the 6th parliament which ceased to function immediately the 7th parliament came into being on January 7, 2017.
The former Chairman of the Finance Committee, James Klutse Avedzi, said that his committee received Ȼ100,000 from officials of the National Lottery Authority ahead of the consideration of amendments to the National Lottery Act, 2006 (Act 722).
The legal advisor to the NLA, David Lamptey had in separate e-mails addressed to the then Director-General of the NLA, Brigadier General Martin Ahiaglo (Retired) in August 2016, requested the approval of a total sum of Ȼ150,000 to push the bill for the consideration by parliamentarians.
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However, Mr. Avedzi said that the Authority first presented 50,000 cedis to the Committee "but when we looked at the provisions, we realised that the amount was not sufficient so they promised to bring another 50,000 cedis."
This is in spite of claims by the NLA's David Lamptey that the funds were spent on accommodation and other items for the members of the committee ahead of a workshop at the Royal Senchi Hotel last year.
The other Ȼ50,000 is yet to be accounted for.
Parliament’s response
But speaking on Accra-based Joy FM on Thursday, Kate Addo said: “The present Parliament is an entirely new parliament and can’t go back to old parliament because their activities are not binding on the subsequent ones.
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“When you have a new parliament, you have a clean slate”.
But it appears that many of the MPs who took the money are still in the new Parliament and Kate Addo is not certain if any punitive action could be taken against those MPs.
She, however, believes that “The thing to do is to avoid situations where parliament will accept assistance from any group or any MDAs.”
Meanwhile, the former boss of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Justice Francis Emile Short has demanded immediate investigations into the circumstances under which the monies were paid.
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