Mike Oquaye calls for bi-partisan enquiry into ‘Vikileaks’
The former Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mike Oquaye, has called for a full parliamentary enquiry into Victoria Hamah’s leaked tape, otherwise known as ‘Vikileaks’, which led to her dismissal as the Deputy Communication Minister.
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Prof. Oquaye, who is also a former Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya Constituency, said Parliament had the mandate to enquire into the allegations of corruption such as Victoria Hamah’s leaked tape.
In the said tape, Ms Hammah revealed that the Minister of Gender, Women and Social Protection played a key role in the August 25 ruling of the Supreme Court’s verdict in the 2012 election petition.
Although Ms Hammah did not explain the nature of the role played by the minister of state, she was of the view that Nana Oye Lithur influenced the decision of the Supreme Court’s verdict.
Prof. Oquaye, who also chaired the third public lecture spearheaded by the Danquah Institute, urged Parliament as an inquisitorial body not to fail to get to the bottom of the issue and lay it to rest.
The Minority Leader of Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei- Mensah Bonsu, said the legitimacy of Parliament was measured by the roles it performed and how effectively it was, adding, “A strong Parliament was one that has fair and unbiased rules, a capacity to represent the will of the people and a reasonable and appropriate role in decision making”.
According to him, “Parliament with no substantial role in the political process or in making binding decisions is a toothless, rubber stamp and inconsequential entity”.
The minority leader disclosed that members of Ghana’s Parliament must understand the principles of responsibility, equality before the law and the urgent need to develop, imbibe and foster a culture of rejection of corruption and impurity.
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“Many people recognise the deficit in the oversight responsibilities of Parliament. Notwithstanding that, correcting the deficiencies in the system should be a collective responsibility even though, admittedly, the role of Parliament is very huge. Parliament is capable of elevating its performance since, as we have seen, a lot of the problems are self-inflicted,” he added.
The minority leader advised Ghanaians to avoid, disassociate and fight against corruption in order to uplift the instruments for good democratic governance, especially the private sector, which is the biggest contributor to the development of the country.
He said building the capacity of Parliamentarians to exercise this responsibility was an urgent necessity, noting that “this is not a one-year or even four-year effort as it requires much time.”