SPECIAL REPORT: The 39 MPs who never spoke in Parliament in 201

The news portal’s crack Political Desk team has combed through 125 hansards of 2019 over a three-week project and presents its findings.

The research does not claim to be an exhaustive work on the contributions of MPs to the work of Parliament. It does not include their work at committees as that would be nigh impossible to track.

It also does not include portions of the hansard that deals with the correction of minutes because that would be majoring on minors.

In this next batch of research, theghanareport presents you with a list of 39 MPs who never spoke on the floor of the House in 2019, according to the hansard.

Of the 39 MPs, 31 are with the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP). Out of the 36, female MPs in Parliament, five of them made the infamous list, having never spoken during the year under review.

Some 23 first-term MPs also did not  speak on the floor while two despite being in their fourth term in parliament did not utter a word during proceedings.

At least five names on this list are ministers or deputy ministers – including deputy minister for Roads and Highways Anthony Karbo and recently promoted a Minister of State at the Ministry for the Interior, Byran Acheampong

Their names raises questions about Ghana’s political system which allows a majority of ministers to be appointed from parliament. The practice continues to undermine the work of parliament and the effectiveness of MPs who get the executive nod.

This is however not likely to worry MPs as many enter parliament with an eye for ministerial appointments which comes with big budget controls and personal perks.

A position that comes with far greater political clout than an MP.

Theghanareport is serialising the performance of MPs on the floor of the chamber. Watch out for the next episode on the most vocal debutants, plus research on the contributions of female MPs.

theghanareport.com