Recently,
there has been a huge fuss about the faux pas committed by the District
Chief Executive (DCE) of Ahafo Ano, Gabriel Barima, who gained
notoriety for his infamous ‘Tweaa’ comment and angry response to
heckling at a public function.
The word "tweeaaa", which
in the local parlance is used to express contempt over a person's
speech, has since become popular on the air waves both locally and
internationally.
And just when Ghanaians were being lured into a
false belief that the DCE's gaffe would fade away, he has been dismissed
from office, re-igniting discussion over the incident.
As if
that is not topical enough, another issue has come up begging the
question what kind of people Ghanaians elect to represent them in
Parliament?
Just as "tweeaaa" is popular among the Ghanaian citizenry, English is also a popular language among Parliamentarians in the country.
Though
speaking English in Parliament is not really a problem, the question
however arises that will it not be a challenge to some MPs? Or should
every Parliamentarian be eloquent when speaking English before getting
into the House?
The Member of Parliament for Wa East, Hon. Aminu
Salifu, who seemed overwhelmed by the English language, committed some
serious bloopers in Parliament quite recently.
Hon. Aminu Salifu,
contributing to discussions on the State of the Nation Address which
was delivered by President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, February 25,
2014, gave his colleagues a very good laugh when he appear quite
flustered as he began his submission which was in the Queen's language,
of course.
The NDC MP gracefully expressed gratitude to the
Speaker of Parliament, Rt Hon Edward Doe Adjaho in a fashion that
portrayed him as the next in line after the Ahafo Ano DCE.
Addressing the House, he welcomed his colleagues, saying; “Thank
you, Mr. Speaker for giving me this opportunity to support the motion
ably made by my senior, Member of Tamale Central; Member of Tamale
Central, of Tamale South…I’m very sorry about that. In doing so, I will
like to thank the President, His Excellency, for the wonderful Speech of
the Nation; of the State of the Nation Address on the twenty-fifth of
the second, 20…”
He further sparked spontaneous laughter when he decided to touch on the achievements of the Mahama administration.
According to him, before the ruling National Democratic Congress came into power, "every Community was virtually under school of trees" but was optimistic the government will continue to put measures in place to make Ghana a better nation.
As
if Hon. Salifu's "honourable" slips were not enough, another member of
Parliament was also reported to have said in a tape recording
purportedly containing his voice to have mixed up his tenses.
The tape, which was played on Oman FM
on Wednesday, saw Hon. Ashie-Moore, Adenta MP disclosing his ordeal in
an interview to another Accra-based radio station on the issue of
whether he has ever been arrested in Belgium for child trafficking.
In
response, Hon. Ashie-Moore debunked claims that he trafficked children
to Belgium. He explained that he only sacrificed himself to save his
children from being repatriated to Ghana and though he was sentenced to
jail for 8 months in Belgium, rumours that he went "to sold" children was a “mere misconception”.
“I
have five siblings. I was trying to adopt two of my sister’s daughters
to Belgium. We all know that before you adopt somebody outside the
country, there are process that you have to follow. We didn’t do that.
When we got to Belgium, we realize that yes, authorities have to deal
with us because we have been able to follow the due or make the due
diligence for bringing the kids to Belgium…
So the case was in
court for more than eight months and according to Belgium law, the
moment you hold somebody attached to a crime that you say the person has
committed, you have limit of months that you can investigate the case
or hold the case up. We went to court; I was given three options…One was
for them to return [repatriate] to Ghana…and three was for me to make
eight months sentence. And I am proud for because I can’t sit down for
them to repatriate the kids to Ghana. I can’t also pay that 12000 Euro
into Belgium account. So, I said, yeah, I would do the time for the
kids. I went to jail.
“Is it true that it’s not some kids that I
have picked from the streets to smuggle them? Or they are really my
children?...that when they started saying that I have gone to sold
children and that and that…”
Funny, you would say. But
seriously, has the Wa East Parliamentary representative given the
country an opportunity to reconsider the type of language that should be
used during Parliamentary proceedings after slipping several times in
the House? Or perhaps, the time has come for Ghanaians to select or vote
for only representatives who can fluently speak the Queen’s language,
to serve as Members of Parliament? Food for thought!!! |
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