Prime News Ghana

23 Members of Parliament 'stranded'

By Clement Edward Kumsah
Parliament_of_ghana_office
Front view of the refurbished Job 600 Office Complex for Members of Parliament.
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Some twenty-three Members of Parliament are operating without offices, because of inadequate space in the multi-million dollar office complex for legislators.

As a quick remedy, parliament of Ghana is expected to transform some committee rooms into temporary offices for the 23 'stranded' parliamentarians.

The dilemma of the MPs was put before Parliament  by South Dayi MP, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, who wanted to know how soon the offices would be provided for the affected MPs.

Former President, John Mahama, on November 2016 commissioned the refurbished office complex of Parliament popularly referred to as Job 600.The completion of 252 offices which was jointly financed by the Fidelity, Cal, and Stanchart Banks, was to provide opportunities for Members of Parliament to comfortably carry out their daily activities without any hindrance.

The edifice also has a 300-seater conference room, 12 meeting rooms, 10 committee rooms, a library, chapel, mosque, clinic, gymnasium, banking hall, and restaurant, among other facilities.

Responding to the issue on the floor of parliament, Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the idea of pairing some members came up for consideration during the erstwhile parliament but was not discussed thoroughly for a decision to be arrived.

He added that some committees were given offices and so there may be the possibility of converting those offices to office space for those members with none. We may not be able to satisfy all those 23 but that will provide us with a useful beginning