Parliament Is Dragging Ghana Down — Charles McCarthy Backs Bagbin’s Rejection of Narcotics Probe

Managing Editor of Hawk Newspaper, Charles McCarthy, has backed Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin’s decision to reject the Minority’s motion seeking a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry into recent major narcotics seizures linked to Ghana.

Speaking of the controversy at Kessben Maakye show in Accra, McCarthy argued that Parliament has become overly consumed by partisan interests while other pressing national problems receive insufficient attention.

He questioned why issues such as the absence of regional hospitals in the six newly created regions by the previous administration, illegal mining and its effects on health and arable land do not generate the same urgency.

Speaker Bagbin ruled the Minority’s motion inadmissible during Parliament’s emergency sitting on September 29, citing its substantial overlap with ongoing investigations and pending criminal proceedings. Parliament’s official account says the Speaker considered both Parliament’s oversight responsibilities and the risk that the proposed inquiry could touch on matters for determination by the court.

McCarthy also questioned the effectiveness of bipartisan parliamentary committees since fifth Parliament arguing that previous inquiries have often failed to produce meaningful outcomes.

He further challenged lawmakers to give similar attention to illegal mining and other issues he considers urgent national priorities.

McCarthy also criticised what he described as inconsistency in Parliament’s handling of conduct within the House, while maintaining that the Speaker was right to reject the narcotics probe in its current form.

McCarthy therefore challenged all interest parties to conduct a comparitive analysis on narcotics that passes through our ports and galamsey menace and tell us which one deserves attention.

He concluded by insisting that, the Parliament is a crime scene and every bipartisan committee is a cover up.