Former Lands Minister and Tamale Central MP Inusah Fuseini has warned that allegations of lawmakers pursuing personal interests could weaken public trust in Parliament and pose a broader threat to Ghana’s democratic governance.
Speaking on Joy FM’s PM Express on Tuesday, Mr Fuseini said Ghana’s 276 Members of Parliament had been entrusted with the responsibility of representing the interests of more than 30 million citizens.
He said MPs exercised significant constitutional responsibilities, including overseeing public finances, holding the Executive accountable and passing laws on behalf of the people.
“We have over 30 million people in this country; 276 have been privileged that, in between the times, four-year term, they take decisions on our behalf because we have trusted them to do so,” he said.
Mr Fuseini cautioned that the democratic mandate given to lawmakers becomes compromised when MPs begin using their positions for personal benefit.
“So when the public begins seeing that these 276 persons that we have given the mandate to represent us and transact business on our behalf in Parliament, hold our purse, I mean hold the executive accountable, pass laws for us, are doing that for themselves, have commodified that mandate that we have given them, and are trading in that mandate,” he said.
According to him, such conduct would not only damage the credibility and legitimacy of individual lawmakers but could also erode public confidence in Parliament as an institution.
“That not only undermines their legitimacy, it also undermines and erodes public confidence and public trust in that institution, and that is what we are confronted with,” he said.
Afenyo-Markin controversy
Mr Fuseini’s comments come amid the ongoing controversy involving Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin and Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi.
Mr Gyamfi, who is also the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Communications Officer, accused Mr Afenyo-Markin of extortion, triggering a heated political dispute and subsequent legal action by the Minority Leader.
Mr Fuseini argued that the matter should not be viewed simply as a dispute between two individuals.
Instead, he said the controversy raises broader questions about whether elected representatives continue to prioritise the interests of the citizens who elected them.
“If that person was sent to Parliament to ensure that the resources are used judiciously and prudently, and that person now thinks that all of us do not matter, in so far as his pocket is lined, then we are in trouble,” he said.
“Then the basic reason why we elected them in the first place goes, because they do not stand for us any longer; they are standing for themselves.”
Concern for democratic governance
Mr Fuseini said allegations of personal enrichment by lawmakers should therefore be assessed within the wider context of Parliament’s constitutional responsibilities.
“That’s why we should treat what we are hearing not as Alexander Afenyo-Markin, but as a serious concern that goes to the root of our democracy,” he said.
He further warned that the pursuit of personal interests at the expense of the public could undermine the broader constitutional objective of creating equal opportunities and improving national prosperity.
“That promise will seriously be undermined if people do not pursue the collective interests, but are pursuing personal interests to the, I mean, disadvantage of the entirety of Ghana,” he said.
He maintained that preserving public trust requires elected representatives to demonstrate that the parliamentary mandate is exercised in the collective interest rather than for personal gain.
