Long Stay In Parliament Deepens Work There - Kabila

James Kwabena Bomfeh, popularly called Kabila, has waded into discussions on whether or not experienced sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) should be protected from losing their seats.

This conversation has arisen following the New Patriotic Party (NPP) primaries on Saturday, June 20, 2020 where about forty (40) sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) surprisingly lost their seats to new aspirants.

Incumbent MP for New Juaben South and Chairman of Parliament's Finance Committee Dr. Mark Assibey Yeboah, Chairman of Parliament's Communications Committee Fredrick Opare Ansah, Chairman of Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee, Ben Abdallah, Chairman of Parliament's Government Assurances Committee Collins Owusu Amankwaah, Chairman of Parliament's Youth and Sports Committe Alex Agyekum and a host of other sitting MPs were defeated in the primaries which means they will not return to Parliament in 2021.

Some critics beleive the loss of these MPs is a good move as it paves way for new comers into Parliament but others think it will impede the work of the Legislative House.

Seasoned Journalist, Kwesi Pratt insists there should be equal opportunities for all eligible persons to contest the Parliamentary seats stressing "we should allow the youth to learn what we have learned, so they can replace us when we're no more . . . We are ageing, nobody grows younger . . . and gradually we are heading to the grave. So we must allow these young men and women to come on board with fresh brains so that when we are no more, they'll steer the affairs . . . But if we will always say they don't have experience, where from the experience? If you don't give them the opportunity, how can the person gain experience? Someone has stayed in Parliament for 20 years . . . But when he/she began, he had zero years experience".

But Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu thinks otherwise saying experienced sitting MPs should retain their seats, hence calling on the NPP leadership to institute an in-built mechanism to protect the MPs.

Addressing the issue, Kabilla also says maintaining long-serving Parliamentarians will help improve Parliamentary affairs.

"Longetivity or long stay in Parliament helps in deepening the work there," he emphasized.