Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has welcomed the research by the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana on the performance of MPs in their constituencies.
Speaking on GBC’s Current Affairs Programme, ‘Behind the News’, Mr. Ablakwa said the research serves as a wakeup call for MPs to be more responsive to their mandated duties.
The MP however expressed the hope that the research will expand its scope and look further into the outputs of Parliamentarians.
Meanwhile, MP for Kpandai, Mathew Nyindam says constituencies held by MPs on the Majority side are huge, making it difficult for them to touch base with the people. He however disagreed with the findings of the research that they will lose their seats if elections were conducted today, adding that the dynamics of the constituencies are different.
Mr Nyindam said the findings are however avenues for MPs to up their game.
A research conducted by the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana revealed that the Minister of Education, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh is the best performing Minister under the current government, with 12 point two per cent approval. This according to the survey is on the basis of policy and delivery as well as competency and hard work. Dr Opoku Prempeh beat off competition from the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto.
The report also revealed that most MPs of the current Parliament have neglected their constituencies. This is because they hardly visit their constituents to interact with them or undertake projects, since they were elected into office in 2016. It revealed that majority of these MPs are in the Greater Accra region.
A senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Isaac Owusu-Mensah said the only time most MPs visit their constituencies is to attend funerals.
Dr. Owusu-Mensah made this known at a forum in Accra to assess the performance of MPs elected in the 2016 general election.
