Two opposition MPs have called for parliament to be shut down after two of their colleagues reportedly tested positive for coronavirus.
Kwame Governs who is MP for Adaklu and Ras Mubarak, MP for Kumbungu, want parliament shut for two weeks.
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“We want the house to shut down because if 13 members of staff and 2 MPs have tested positive for the deadly novel coronavirus then that is seriously looking at the close proximity of the chamber within which we work,” Ras Mubarak said in an interview.
They argued that there is no urgent business in parliament to warrant continuing sittings.
“ There is currently the consideration of the education regulatory bill -2019 which is fought with a lot of controversies, the visa waivers then presentation of papers… nothing COVID_19 related so all of this can wait for two weeks…..I don’t see anything that is of urgent nature to warrant Members of Parliament to continue to expose themselves to the dangers of coming into contact with persons who may have COVID_19”
Kwame Agbodza also shared similar sentiments.
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“We are in a very crowded environment here; we all use the same doors, go through the same corridor, people touching the walls and I haven’t seen anybody cleaning handrails or doorknobs regularly so we are all at risk”
The leadership of parliament yesterday denied reports that two Members of Parliament tested positive for the deadly novel virus.
In a statement, the Director of Communication, Kate Addo said coronavirus test results of Members of Parliament and parliamentary staff were yet to be released.
“Parliament would like to state categorically that the results of the tests are not yet known and so the report by Starrfmonline is not true… The confidentiality protocol is that, those who test positive will be called directly by the testing team.
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But in a twist of events, Minority Chief Whip Mubarak, Mohammed Muntaka, called out the leadership of parliament for lying.
“When you go and lie to the people who pay us, you are endangering the lives of the staff, the parliamentarians and the general public.”
“I’m saying this with a lot of pain because national interest must be protected at all times,” he said.
Source: theghanareport
