TMA backtracks on suspension of Tema West MP
The Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) has unanimously voted to lift Wednesday’s suspension of Mr. Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tema West for obstructing the lawful work of Assembly officials.
The incident was caught on audio visual storage devises and had gone viral on social media.
This decision was premised on the plea by the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) to the TMA on Friday to reconsider the decision as he felt was harsh considering Mr. Ahenkorah’s inability to give his side of the story.
“I will like to say to Honorable Members that I made a complaint to the PRCC, and that is what warranted Wednesday’s meeting. I am assuring all of you that I am going to review that complaint and upon review the Honorable PM will let you know,” The MCE, Mr. Felix Mensah Nii Annan-La said.
Mr. Annan-La said his gesture was in the spirit of unity and development that was calculated to bring all who matter together to achieve his vision for Tema.
“I will take this opportunity to once again thank all honorable members whose expertise and experience has seen us through this exercise today,” he added.
“I sit here today very sad because of what has happened throughout the week. We all know it has good and bad sides,” he said whilst he looked back on the clash that occurred between the TMA Task Force and the MP over the siting of some ‘containers’ in front of the Cocoa Village at Community Two, Tema.
He observed that it was not only Mr. Ahenkorah who was affected by the decision of TMA, adding that “what happened to him has affected many, and if we have done something to affect their reputation I stand on behalf of the Assembly, as the Mayor of Tema to apologize and at the appropriate time what need to be done will be done.”
The MP for Tema Central, Mr. Kofi Brako advised Assembly Members to desist from encouraging the unlawful siting of ‘containers’.
He observed that “we are their representatives so if they come appealing to us that our ‘containers’ which have been sited here for years is being removed, for humanitarian reasons we also try to assist them. If we the Assembly Men do not allow the ‘containers’ to be placed at the wrong places, I am sure we will also not come around to do something at all.”
He was happy for the decision and promised the Assembly that “there is never going to be a time that we will have that sort of confrontation with your MCE.”
The Presiding Member (PM) of the Assembly, Mr. Richard Fiadomor, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), observed that it was the suspension that was looked at, but that the MP, who was also a Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, will still appear before the Public Relations and Complaints Committee (PRCC).
He said, “He didn’t appear the first time that was why we saw it as an affront to the house. That is why we went ahead to suspend him. Now we are given him the opportunity to restart the process by appearing before the PRCC and then come before the General House to apologize, if need be.”
He added that, “If he comes and we hear his side of the story and we think it is still not good, we will profile his story to the General Assembly to implement, and that is why we will want to send him back. We have not freed him; we have now given him the chance to appear before the PRCC and subsequently the General Assembly.”
Source: GNA