Alban Kingsford Bagbin
Speaker of Parliament, Alban Kingsford Bagbin, has indicated that many of the illnesses that plague politicians, particularly Members of Parliament (MPs), are the result of career-related stress.
“And I can say a lot of trials, a lot of tribulations and a lot of things we go through,” he added.
Mr. Bagbin made these remarks while leading a party of MPs and Parliament staff to visit the family of the late Felix Owusu-Adjapong, former Majority Leader, to express condolences.
“People see the pegs of the office as the attraction and there is a magnification as if Parliament is a pot of gold.
“But when I ask Ghanaians, can you tell me which former MP that you know that is rich, then they start thinking,” he intimated.
The speaker urged Ghanaians to seriously consider the nature and role of MPs, stating, “Either than that, when the message gets out there, it will be very difficult to get people to go and represent us.”
He recalled the late D.Y. Mensah, who went home to see his constituents and died in the process.
“They were seated down conversing when he dozed off and died. When they saw that he was very quiet, they went to touch him and he was gone,” he intimated.
Mr. Bagbin stated that constituents started to leave one after the other, and that “it is now a family problem,” and continued that since that time, he had recognised the importance of family.
He described Mr. Owusu-Adjapong’s death as “really shocking” to him, noting that “we didn’t know he wasn’t well.”
“We all know him by the title: ‘Great Leader.’ He was a great leader in Parliament and he introduced a lot of terminology we still refer to,” the Speaker said.
It is sad when such a person passes on without you knowing he was sick. Felix Owusu-Adjapong died recently aged 79 after an illness.
The Speaker also visited the family of the late E.T Mensah to commiserate with them.
The speaker spoke warmly about the late E.T. Mensah, whom he called his brother.
He informed the family that Parliament would work with them to ensure that the former MP was properly buried.
By Ernest Kofi Adu