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The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has admonished Ghanaians to desist from the practice of politicising his health problems and those of other office-bearers.
This comes after the Speaker suffered a backlash of public opinion against his decision to travel to Dubai for routine medical checks, leaving Ghana right after the purported rejection of the 2022 Budget in Parliament on Friday 26 November.
A statement issued by the Office of the Speaker said: “The attention of the Office of Speaker Right Honourable Alban S K Bagbin has been drawn the circulation of a communication between Parliament’s Parliamentary Relations and Protocol Office and the Consulate General of Dubai. The said document is in regard to the Right Honourable Speaker’s trip to Dubai for a routine medical check-up.
“Let it be placed on record that the Speaker is accompanied by four officials, to the exclusion of his aide de camp, protocol officer, butler and other relevant staff. The Speaker’s Office will again [sic] like to state that, as part of their conditions of service, Speakers of Ghana’s Parliament are entitled to such routine medical check-ups, just like officials of the executive and judiciary arms [sic] of government.
“The Office will advise that the health issues of the Speaker and that of office-bearers [be] not politicised, as anybody could be taken ill at any time. It is an undeniable fact that the membership of the House is one whole group with a common agenda and destiny,” the statement said.
The statement further disclosed that the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, is currently on a trip to the United Arab Emirates for a routine medical check-up and not in any way putting pressure of the public purse.
“It is trite knowledge that, most staff of some Ministries, Departments and Agencies also have similar facilities at their disposals and continue to take advantage of such arrangements to their benefit. Indeed, the records of the Parliamentary Service are replete with evidence which point to the fact that, all Speakers of the fourth Republican Parliaments have, at one time or another, accessed this facility.”
The statement added that “It is worth noting that, it is not only the Speaker of Parliament and his Deputies that are entitled to such a facility, the entire leadership of the House are also entitled to the same facility and continually resort to it when the need arises.”
Attached is the full statement
Source: Daily Mail GH
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