A former Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Joseph Dindiok Kpemka has expressed his displeasure in the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dome-Kwabenya, Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo, asking her to honourably vacate her posts rather than holding the country to ransom.
His comments come after Ms Safo, who is also the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, refused to honour an invitation extended to her by the Privileges Committee of Parliament.
It will be recalled that the Committee summoned Madam Adwoa Safo, to appear before it on July 6, 2022, over her absenteeism in the House. Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Joseph Osei Owusu directed that the summons be published publicly as the MP has been unreachable.
The Privileges Committee has been tasked by the Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Alban Bagbin, to engage Adwoa Safo, Kennedy Agyapong and Henry Quartey over complaints of chronic absenteeism brought against them.
But the Committee said it was yet to get any response from her having “employed all available means, both official and unofficial, to serve the Member with an invitation letter, including sending the invitation letter to her office and pigeonhole in Parliament.”
Meanwhile, Adwoa Safo had disclosed in a previous interview she granted Joy News, that she was in the United States and had not been served any invitation from the committee.
Reacting to the development on TV3’s Key Points show hosted by broadcaster Dzifa Bampo, Mr. Joseph Kpemka indicated he was unenthused with the behaviour being exhibited by Adwoa Safo, especially for the fact that she could appear on social media yet her contacts cannot be reached.
The former Tempane MP found Adwoa Safo’s behaviour disrespectful towards the system that made her who she is today.
He suggested that rather than attracting unnecessary attention for herself, Adwoa Safo can honourably resign to bring finality to the issues. The legal luminary quoted some portions of the Constitution to back his suggestions.
“…You can just say that look I’m calling it a quit, honourably resigning as a Minister; and even if you cannot continue to be MP, you can also resign, all that is anticipated under Article 97, it’s articulated very clearly that if you’re no longer interested you can vacate your seat and a by-election would then be conducted. So, none of us when given the opportunity to serve could take the nation to ransom.”
“Anytime Parliament releases something about her, she comes up with these things on Tik Tok etc. It’s not good for her image, it’s like you are making fun of the system that has made you who you are.”
“Because having reason from where she came from, all the way through to become an MP for 3 terms, then Minister for Procurement and Minister for Gender, huge reputation to protect and I think that she doesn’t have to do anything further that will jeopardise that because the future holds more for her than she thinks,” he said on the news analysis program