Second Deputy Minority Whip Jerry Ahmed Shaib has acknowledged concerns over allegations of money being given to MPs in connection with Parliament’s vetting process.
The latest controversy follows a circulating memo claiming that Deputy Minority Leader and Asokwa MP Patricia Appiagyei returned Ghc70,000 allegedly connected to the vetting of ministers and Supreme Court nominees.
Mr Shaib has denied that claim and said Appiagyei told him she never received the money or wrote the memo.
However, he said the wider issue should not be dismissed because such allegations can affect the reputation of Parliament.
“There are concerns,” he said on TV3. He said the situation becomes more worrying when allegations are accompanied by documents whose origins are unclear.
Mr Shaib said this was not the first time similar claims had emerged around the work of the Appointments Committee.
He said Parliament should therefore take the concerns seriously, particularly because of how the allegations are being discussed by the public.
“If you go onto social media, you see what a lot of people are saying, alleging corruption on the part of members of Parliament. That should worry you,” he said.
He said the concerns should be addressed rather than allowed to continue.
“Wherever we find ourselves, these concerns must be dealt with,” he said.
Mr Shaib supported an inquiry as one possible way of establishing the facts.
He also made clear that his comments were based on what he personally knew and what Patricia Appiagyei had told him.
He said the MP had “vehemently” denied receiving any money and had denied producing the document in circulation.
“She hasn’t received anything. Nobody has given her anything. She has not produced any document. She hasn’t written any memo,” he said.
For Mr Shaib, investigating the claims would help establish whether the circulating document was genuine and address the wider concerns surrounding alleged payments to MPs.
