PARLIAMENT CCTV CAMERAS ARE NOT WORKING – KEVOR

The Eastern Regional Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress [NDC], Mark-Oliver Kevor has challenged Ghana’s parliament to release the CCTV footage on report of the alleged vetting committee bribery scandal that hit the house some few weeks ago.

In the report presented by the Joe Ghartey committee established by the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Prof. Mike Ocquaye, it stated that due to security reasons the footage was examined in-camera.

Meanwhile according to the regional secretary, the CCTV cameras in the parliament house are all faulty and not working and that the law making chamber has no videos to that effect.

A new bribery scandal raged Parliament some few months ago with the Minority members on the Appointment Committee accusing Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko of trying to bribe them.

Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga claimed Mr Agyarko, who was sweating to be approved by the Committee paid GHȻ3,000 each to the Minority members in order to approve him without any resistance.

According to Ayariga, they received the money thinking it was payment of their sitting allowance, only to be told later that the money was coming from Boakye Agyarko. They therefore had to return the money.

Hon. Ayariga’s allegation instigated the Speaker of the House to constitute a 5 – member committee chaired by the Hon. Joe Ghartey to ascertain whether the allegation was true or otherwise.

The committee’s report which established Hon. Ayariga’s allegation as untrue and charged him of contempt of parliament has received wide criticism from a lot of legal luminaries.

Commenting on the committee’s report on Radio1’s award winning Morning Show hosted by Captain Kofi Wusu, Mr. Kevor said the committee did not tell Ghanaians the truth by prentending as if it had a videotape in its possession as evidence to support its work.

He said from his experience as an Information Security expert, the CCTV cameras in Parliament house are there only to prevent people from committing crime but cannot detect crime and that is the information the committee said cannot be made public so as not to compromise the security of parliament.

“Am telling you on authority that the security cameras in parliament house are not working; so what videotape did the Joe Ghartey committee used as evidence against Hon. Mahama Ayariga?” he asked rhetorically.

The regional scribe therefore challenged the committee to release the said tape if indeed it had as an exhibit.

“I challenge them to release the so-called, non-existent videotape they claim is in their possession as evidence to the public so that Ghanaians will have confidence in the report” he ranted.

He is of the view that Hon. Ayariga has been used as a sacrificial lamb to pacify the image of the law making chamber.

Story by Julius Caesar Gafli/Radio1