The Speaker of Parliament and the Chief Justice have been removed from the list of public officials permitted to use sirens and motorcades in their official vehicles under a new road traffic amendment regulation recently presented to Parliament.
Former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu revealed this change after the introduction of the Legislative Instrument (L.I.) to the House.
The L.I., initially withdrawn due to public criticism over proposed siren privileges for MPs, now excludes both the Speaker and the Chief Justice.
Speaking to the House on Wednesday, September 4, Haruna Iddrisu voiced concerns, arguing that it is inappropriate to deny such privileges to the Speaker of Parliament, who occupies the third-highest position in the government.
“Without personalising it, it is not Alban Sumana Bagbin. It is the Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament and he is not entitled to a motorcade or a police siren, in my view Mr Speaker, it is wrong for the number three to be out of this privilege,” he stated.
He added “The Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana is also out of the Motor Traffic Regulation and not entitled to it. Mr Speaker, you can keep a minister and member of parliament but this republic has four important personalities; the president, the vice president, the speaker and the chief justice.”
Meanwhile, Speaker Alban Bagbin has urged the members of parliament to be assertive leaders.
“Today, when you are talking about matured democracy and spariless parliament, leadership is very matters. You must be prepared to take responsibility and defend your position.
If the people knew as you do, they wouldn’t have elected you. So, they expect to lead them and to be able to persuade them that you are doing so in their interest.
“There are only two people elected on December 7 any election year, the president and the member of parliament and the two of you are to lead the people to make their lives better,” he stated.
