Provide MPs with enough resources- Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu

Page 16, November 23, 2007
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Suame and Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who has been nominated by the President as a minister-of-state, yesterday called for enough resources to be provided for MPs to enable them to perform to their maximum ability.
He said it was unfortunate that presently MPs used their car boots as their offices, adding that the situation did not allow them to work effectively.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu made these assertions when he appeared before the Appointments Committees of Parliament to be vetted for his new position.
He stated that the lack of office accommodation for MPs posed a great challenge to the legislature, adding that out of the 230 MPs, only 12 who were in leadership positions had offices.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said facilities at the MPs residence at Sakumono was not the best, explaining that those who were occupying two bedroom flats had to purchase their own furniture.
“How can you expect the best from MPs without providing them with a well equipped library”, he asked.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu called for measures to constantly build the capacities of MPs to enable them to contribute effectively, both on the floor of the House and at the committee level.
Some of the members of the committee expressed worry about the appointment of MPs, such as the nominee, with immense parliamentary experience to ministerial positions, and wondered whether it was not a ploy by the executive to weaken the legislature.
They described Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu as a role model whose immense knowledge in Parliamentary practice many MPs had taken inspiration from.
The nominee however responded that if he was approved, he would still have ample time for parliamentary sittings to contribute to the work of the House.
On whether he subscribes to a school of thought that there should be a limit to the number of terms that MPs should be in Parliament, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said that if the legislature would grow, then it required experience MPs.
He added that the current practice should be maintained for the electorate to decide the number of terms that MPs would be in Parliament “else we will be losing our experienced MPs due to such limitations”.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu was born on February 3, 1957 at Breman Afrancho in the Ashanti Region, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Planning at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in 1992.
In 1996, he contested on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the parliamentary election and won the Suame seat to represent his constituents in Parliament.
He has since 1997 held the positions of Majority Chief Whip and Deputy Majority leader in Parliament.
In another development, Ms Victoria Bright, who has been nominated as a deputy minister at the office of the President appeared before the Appointments Committee for the second time.
When she appeared before it for the first time, the approval of her nomination was withheld because of doubts about her nationality.
Ms Bright, 42, told the committee that she had renounced her British citizenship, adding that documents that had been distributed to members of the committee attested to that fact.
She explained that even though she was in good employment in Britain, it was a privilege for her to contribute to the country’s development.