JOSEPH OSEI-OWUSU ADMITS MPS RECEIVE MONEY FROM CHIEF OF STAFF AFTER VETTING, DENIES BRIBERY CLAIMS

Former First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, has acknowledged that members of Parliament’s Appointments Committee receive money from the Chief of Staff after vetting ministerial nominees. However, the former Bekwai MP insists that the payments are not bribes but rather facilitation funds to support their work.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Wednesday, Osei-Owusu, who previously chaired the Appointments Committee, defended the practice, stating that the funds are provided after the vetting process is completed and are not intended to influence decisions.

“Yes, indeed. I told him (Manasseh Azure) that when I joined the Appointments Committee, most of the time, at the close of our work, the Chief of Staff would bring money to the members of the committee. It’s like facilitating our work,” he explained. “I wonder how anybody could link that to bribery?”

Osei-Owusu expressed frustration over what he described as the ease with which allegations are made in Ghana without evidence. “The easiest thing in our country is throwing about allegations. Often, people will just say things, and when you ask them to provide the evidence, they are found wanting,” he lamented.

He also addressed past bribery allegations involving him during the 2017 vetting of a ministerial nominee. At the time, MPs Mahama Ayariga and others accused him of being involved in bribery, a claim he vehemently denied.

“I had a long meeting with the leadership, and my conclusion was that I should go to court because I was very confident that everything Ayariga and the others said had nothing to do with me. I don’t know where they created it from. Of course, when the committee was set up, they said it was the then Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak, who told them—and Muntaka himself came and denied it,” Osei-Owusu recounted.

Reacting to claims in journalist Manasseh Azure’s book, which suggested that MPs receive money after vetting, Osei-Owusu maintained that the practice is not improper. “Somebody forwarded that Facebook thing to me. So I contacted Azure, and I sent a message, forwarded the thing to him, and he called me. He said that if perhaps I had read the book, I would see the difference,” he said. “It’s unfortunate how we stretch facts and give explanations or interpretations that have nothing to do with reality.”

When questioned whether the payments could amount to influence peddling, Osei-Owusu dismissed the notion, arguing that the funds are given after the work is done. “This is after the work. How can that bring an advantage to anybody? What gives a disadvantage to anybody? So it’s a pity how we can stretch facts,”he stated.

However, former Auditor General Daniel Yaw Domelevo, who was also on the show, strongly disagreed with Osei-Owusu’s stance. He described the practice as problematic and called for its immediate cessation.

“It sounds very unfortunate for me to hear from my colleague Joe Wise say that the Chief of Staff used to bring them money after their work,” Domelevo remarked. “Does it mean Parliament falls under the budget of the Chief of Staff? Are they not allocated their own budget?”

Domelevo argued that such payments could compromise the integrity of Parliament’s work. “I think that is not a good practice. If it happened, I think it has to stop. If we know that after doing this work, we will be remunerated, it influences the work that we are doing. So there is influence peddling there,” he asserted.

The revelations have sparked a heated debate about the independence of Parliament and whether financial incentives, regardless of timing, can undermine the integrity of the vetting process. While Osei-Owusu maintains that the payments are harmless facilitation, critics like Domelevo argue that they create room for undue influence and erode public trust in parliamentary processes.

The controversy has reignited calls for greater transparency and accountability in Ghana’s legislative practices, with many urging a review of such financial arrangements to safeguard the credibility of parliamentary proceedings.

Source:NKONKONSA.COM