The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has made a passionate appeal to Members of Parliament to uphold a standard of good behaviour to earn the needed respect and trust of the public.
Bagbin’s appeal is in response to growing concerns among some MPs regarding the treatment they receive from a section of the populace, particularly from security personnel.
Reflecting on the feedback he said he has gathered from the public, Bagbin remarked that the general sentiment is that MPs often conduct themselves inappropriately, likening their behaviour to that of “kindergarten pupils on the floor of Parliament during proceedings.”
In his address, Bagbin cautioned parliamentarians to be mindful of their conduct, stressing the importance of acting with dignity befitting their roles as leaders of the state. He urged the MPs to remember the weight of their responsibilities and the impact of their behaviour on public perception.
“A number of you have complained to me that you meet some of these security personnel and some other officials and when you say ‘I am a member of Parliament’, the response you get is that and so what?
“I think that this problem is from how we conduct ourselves. Will they ever tell a judge or a minister ‘and so what?’ Why is it that they say that to Members of Parliament? We need to look at it first.”
“I want to plead with all of you to let us conduct ourselves well as leaders of state because sometimes when we are doing things on the floor, they look at it and assess you and so when you say you are a Member of Parliament and they know that on the floor of the House, there is no difference between you and kindergarten pupils.”
