Parliament yesterday approved a code of conduct for Members of Parliament (MPs). The code was crafted by an ad hoc committee of the House established on the orders of the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho.
The code clearly spells out the "dos" and "don'ts" of MPs.
Since the coming into force of the 1992 Constitution, there has not been any code of conduct for members of the legislative body, an issue which has been of concern to Parliament as an institution.
The absence has made it difficult to measure and assess the conduct of MPs to determine whether they are acting within the perimeters of "honourability" or not.
Following the approval of the code, Mr Adjaho directed the Privileges Committee of the House to develop a manual or guide to the code for perusal and adoption by the plenary.
Mr Adjaho also placed the responsibility for the enforcement of the code at the doorstep of the committee.
The development of the manual is considered crucial and necessary as it would outline in detail the ethical issues raised by the actions or inaction of MPs on each of the general principles of the draft code.
It will also outline the processes and procedures to be followed by members in complying or applying the rules.
The manual will further codify the appropriate remedial action to be taken or sanction to be imposed on a breach of a rule on a member when the House considers it necessary.
Contents
Under the integrity principle of the code, the MPs are expected to avoid placing themselves in a position to be influenced by people or organisations.
They are also not to take decisions that would result in financial or material benefits to themselves, families and friends.
The MPs are also enjoined not to accept gifts which might reasonably be considered to be given with the intention to influence their ability to perform their duties conscientiously.
The debate
Contributing to the debate to approve the code of conduct, the member for Old Tafo, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, said the conditions of service of MPs needed to be added to the code to clear the misconceptions Ghanaians had about MPs and how much they earned.
He said MPs needed to be professional in their comments and behaviour.
The member for Tamale Central, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, said punishment for the breach of the code needed to be clearly spelt out.
The Deputy Minority Leader, Mr Dominic Nitiwul, called for strict enforcement of the code and warned political parties not to interfere with the application of sanctions.
He said for the code to be very effective, what was due members needed to be provided to them.
The member for Tamale South, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, said with the coming into effect of the code, members needed to desist from making unsavoury comments about each other on the floor of the House and at other fora.
The member for Shai Osudoku, Mr David Tetteh Assumeng, said the code of conduct needed to cover the clothes members wore as well.
The member for Manhyia, Dr Matthew Opoku-Prempeh, said Parliament, since its inception, had suffered a credibility crisis and expressed the hope that the code of conduct would help address the problem.
He agreed with the suggestion that the conditions of service of MPs should be made part of the code.
The Majority Chief Whip, Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak, said the code of conduct should bar MPs from receiving gifts valued at more than GH¢500 and from giving gifts valued at more than GH¢100.
The member for Subin, Mr Isaac Osei, urged MPs to consider the code as a kind of peer review and as a self-regulation document.
The Minority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said the conduct of a Speaker of Parliament needed to be addressed by the code, adding that the impartiality of the person clauses needed to be included.
