Majority leader and minister of parliamentary affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has criticised the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) national leadership for its management of the minority caucus’ members.
He claims that the NDC’s national leadership is autocratic and has effectively made the party’s lawmakers into machines that must always comply with their orders.
Speaking in an interview on Kumasi-based Fox FM, on Friday, monitored by GhanaWeb, Kyei-Mensah- Bonsu said that, unlike the NDC, the leadership of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) always consults the party’s leadership in parliament and their MPs when making decisions on issues that come before the House.
“The NDC has now made their party like a communist party, where the party makes a decision on issues that goes to parliament and it is final, whether it is in the interest of the nation or not. This is how they want to run their party which is most unfortunate.
“They have reduced their MPs into zombies. Once the party decides that is it. This is totally wrong,” he said in Twi.
The majority leader, who is also the MP for the Suame Constituency, added NDC MPs like the MP for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini, have now started rebelling against their national leaders.
Alhassan Suhuyini, blasted the national leadership of the NDC, accusing them of sleeping on their real responsibilities.
A visibly angry Suhuyini, whiles speaking on Accra-based Pan African TV, said the current situation where the leadership are seeking to coach parliament was totally wrong and inimical.
He holds that the leadership should be managing core party business along with its leadership in Parliament.
“This is something I have said at the risk of being ostracized from the party. Party leaders are not chosen to manage Parliament. They are not chosen to be coaches of Parliament. They are chosen to run the party alongside Parliament.
“So, when they have a debate in Parliament and the parliamentarians win that debate, you expect the national organizers, the women’s organizers, the chairmen and the secretary to be massing people up on the street.
“To complement what Parliament is doing, but when what we have is executives sitting on the bench coaching Parliament, that will not take us to victory. Our party leaders must begin to wake up and understand that the 2024 elections will not be won in Parliament. It will not be won by the work of any parliamentarian,” he stressed.