The Member of Parliament for Odododiodio Constituency in the Greater Accra region, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has criticized some citizens he claims were vocal in their protests against economic hardship during the previous administration of John Dramani Mahama.
Vanderpuye alleged that these citizens and pressure groups, who have since become dormant or inactive after Maham’s exit are now expecting Minority MPs in Parliament to fight their battles for them.
He expressed his disappointment in their silence, noting that they should not leave the minority MPs to fight alone for the betterment of the citizens.
Speaking in an interview with TV XYZ on April 13, 2023, Nii Lante Vanderpuye urged citizens to speak out against the economic challenges they are facing, and not to expect the MPs to do everything for them.
He stated that the minority MPs in Parliament are doing their best to hold the government accountable.
“Why is it that all Ghanaians are now looking up to us the minority, who are just 137 MPs?
“What is Ghana’s population? 30 million and we are 137 minority MPs in Parliament who have turned into a camel carrying all the burdens.
“Mahama’s time, didn’t we have MPs? Why didn’t people blame the MPs but were rather hitting the streets? Why is it that TUC won’t take their people to the streets like they did during Mahama’s administration?
“Why is it that these socialites individuals who were demonstrating during Mahama’s time won’t do the same at this time, because the kind of things going on today is 100 times worse than Mahama’s time.
“So, if in Mahama’s time, TUC declared strikes, GUTA closed shops because of economic hardship and people were demonstrating here and then, why are they not doing the same but rather expecting we the 137 members of parliament to do that for them.
“For us, we can just do our best, even the voting, we voted against them but didn’t have the numbers and we lost…but the hypocrisy of the country and of the system has made everyone to be quiet,” he said.
His comments come amid growing concerns about the economic challenges facing Ghanaians. Many have criticized the government’s handling of the economy and have called for urgent action to be taken to improve the lives of citizens.
