Parliament yesterday stepped into the raging double salary allegation leveled against some Members of Parliaments (MPs) who were ministers under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration.
The house appealed to the public to be circumspect in their comments since the matter is under investigation by the police.
A press release dated April 18 and signed by the acting director of the Public Affairs Department, Kate Addo, said that parliament as an institution, was ready to cooperate fully with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to unravel all the circumstances surrounding these alleged irregularities to bring the matter to a permanent conclusion.
“Parliament wishes to observe that the offence of criminality in the said matter is yet to be proven and will therefore like to implore Members of Parliament and the general public to remain calm and circumspect in their comments until the full facts of the matter are determined by the police.” the statement said.
Probe Committee
Meanwhile, a two-member bi-partisan committee is to investigate the alleged double salary scandal.
The committee, made up of the Monitoring and Evaluation Minister, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei and Ho Central MP, Benjamin Kpodo, according to Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, is expected to provide some clarity on the issue in order for it to be put to rest.
“…Initially, it was Ato Forson who was to join Dr. Akoto Osei for this exercise. Unfortunately, before the committee could start, Mr Ato Forson took a position, lampooning the police. And we felt that by that action he had compromised himself and he was replaced.
“I believe that in the next couple of days, they would be touching base; and with our financial directorate and subsequently with the Controller and Accountant General, be able to assist the police in unraveling the truth and then we will take it from there,” he added.
Conflicting Reports
Confusion has set into the camp of the opposition NDC over the double salary scandal.
Victor Kodjoga Adawudu, a private legal practitioner and member of the NDC who is representing some of the affected MPs in the case, rubbished reports that Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu – also accused by the police for taking double salary – has spoken to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to ‘drop’ the case.
Haruna was to appear before the CID yesterday over the scandal.
The Confusion
However, the NDC lawyer’s assertion has been debunked by the minority leader, who said he personally spoke to the president but would not disclose what transpired at the meeting.
According to Mr. Adawudu, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu, who threw the bombshell, is not being ‘truthful’ when he said on radio that Mr Haruna Iddrisu wanted the president to intervene in the matter to ‘save’ the image of parliament.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu had said on Joy FM on Tuesday that Haruna Iddrisu expressed concern to President Akufo-Addo that if the police went ahead to investigate the matter, it would bring the name of parliament into disrepute.
“The minority leader has spoken to the president that some intervention must be done in order to save the image of parliament,” the majority leader confirmed on Joy FM.
He said specifically that Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu feared that “these things (double salary issues) will dent and further inflate the mortal wound on parliament.”
Adawudu Labeling
But Mr. Adawudu took Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu on, virtually labeling him a liar for saying that Haruna Iddrisu wanted the case – which has sparked heated public debate – dropped.
He told journalists at the CID headquarters after getting a bail for one of the accused persons that “it is not true,” and urged the public not to follow such ‘falsehood,’ adding, “I don’t have that information.”
By Thomas Fosu Jnr & William Yaw Owusu