Parliament condemns seizure of govt institutions. Calls on police to act
Parliament last Wednesday condemned the seizure of public institutions across the country by some youth following the victory of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the December 7, 2016 election.
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Consequently, the House urged the police to treat the seizure of public institutions as a crime and punish the perpetrators, regardless of their political affiliations.
The Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, raised the issue on the floor of Parliament indicating that the takeover of public institutions by some youth in the name of change of government was a matter of great public concern.
He said the phenomenon had the potential to undermine national peace and cohesion, hence the need "to find a necessary terminal end to it."
While sharing in the view of Mr Iddrisu regarding the forcible takeovers, the Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, blamed the previous government and the police for failing to deal decisively with perpetrators of similar crimes in the past.
He said the police could not be entreated to act only when some people deemed it appropriate, saying "All times, when such events occur, the police must act timeously and decisively."
Minority Leader
Mr Iddrisu cited the seizure of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) buildings and tollbooths, especially in the Northern and Western regions as examples.
He said in Agbogboloshie in Accra, the phenomenon was beginning to engender some ethnic tension around that area.
"It borders on crime and it is important that law-enforcement agencies take ruthless and decisive actions to bring an end to the growing phenomenon,’’he said.
Mr Iddrisu, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, said Ghanaians were celebrating the conduct of credible and peaceful elections and the nation had witnessed one of the best political transfer of power consistent with the outcome of the 2016 election.
"You can celebrate but you have to be circumspect in your celebration and respect the rights of others," he said.
Mr Iddrisu said there had been concerns by some MPs that their respective constituents were worried that they would become victims of the abuses.
"To protect national peace and harmony, I urge the House to take a position on the matter and ask the law-enforcement agencies to treat it as a crime and punish persons regardless of the political party that they belong to," he said.
Majority Leader
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who agreed with the sentiments expressed by the Minority Leader, noted that events following elections in this country had often been rancorous and acrimonious.
For instance, he said, the events of 2009 were exacerbated to the extent that heads were cracked and people were murdered in cold blood.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the MP for Suame, said in 2008/2009, people were shot in the lead-up to the election, toilets were seized, residences were razed down, tollbooths were ransacked and toll collections of markets and lorry parks were taken away. Besides, he said, some metropolitan assemblies were taken over by foot soldiers.
"These events are playing out again and nobody can find comfort in this," he said.
The Majority Leader said the disturbances that happened at Agbogboloshie in the previous election had not been dealt with.
He said names were submitted at the request of the police but nothing was done about it.
"Nobody is justifying anything except I believe that those events were wrong yesterday and they are wrong today as well.
"We must discover our voice as a House to condemn what is condemnable. We should not wait until eight years after to discover our voice. So, nobody can justify what is going on today but we should be even-handed and balanced in our condemnation," he said.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stressed the need for the country to ensure that there would not be a repeat of the seizures.
He indicated that there were still lingering issues that the police must deal with "so as a nation we shall bring these things to a closure.
"We are not doing the nation any good by these events. Let us all resolve that we are in a new dispensation, the rule of law must work," he said.
