Make MPs COVID-19 test results public – Political Scientist

A political scientist and senior fellow at the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), Kwesi Jonah, wants parliament to make the COVID-19 results of Members of Parliament public.

“There should be transparency… Nothing should be hidden. It’s not a secret lodge. Everything should be open,” Mr Jonah said.

It comes after reports of some MPs testing positive for the virus after the Speaker ordered mandatory testing for all legislators and parliamentary staff.

Two MPs test positive for COVID-19

It has emerged that two MPs and 13 parliamentary staff have so far tested positive. Despite parliament’s insistence that no MP, nor a legislative staff, have tested positive, some MPs have gone public confirming media reports that two of their colleagues have contracted the virus.

One of such is MP for Asawase, Muntaka Mubarak. According to him, parliament lied when it issued a statement denying reports some legislators had contracted the virus.

He said the infected MPs were told of their status, prompting the Speaker’s directive for mandatory testing for all MPs and staff of parliament.

The Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak in an interview with Joy Prime added when he saw the statement from the Public Affairs Department, he called its Director, Kate Addo, to find out whether she indeed signed the statement and she confirmed doing so.

‘Parliament lied’ – Muntaka confirms 2 MPs tested positive for coronavirus

The outspoken NDC MP said he would have handled the issue much differently by telling the media that the testing was not over, hence they should wait until Saturday for detailed information, instead of lying about it.

“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.

Though a section of the public has descended heavily on Parliament for concealing the truth, others believe the COVID-19 statuses of MPs should not be disclosed to the public since political opponents could use it against them.

But the Senior f IDEG fellow, Kwesi Jonah said, “the fact that some opponents will use it against them was completely irrelevant.

“The Speaker must make sure that even if they’re not going to mention names, he could say that a certain percentage of our parliamentarians have contracted [coronavirus], therefore, these are the measures that we are going to use to protect not just the MPs, but their constituents,” he added.