Parliament is in crisis of confidence – CDD’s Osae-Kwapong warns fresh allegations could ceepen public distrust

Democracy and Development Fellow at CDD-Ghana, Dr John Osae-Kwapong, has warned that fresh allegations involving Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin could further damage public confidence in Parliament. Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, Dr Osae-Kwapong said the controversy must not be viewed only through the actions of the individual at the centre of the allegations. He said the wider concern is what such allegations could mean for Parliament as Ghana’s key representative institution.

“When you look beyond the individual that has triggered this broader conversation that we are having, it really goes to the heart of how we perceive the institution of Parliament, the key representative institution of the people,” he said. His comments come amid a public dispute between Mr Afenyo-Markin and GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi. Mr Gyamfi accused the Minority Leader of being an “extortionist” and alleged that he was seeking to pressure GoldBod.

Mr Afenyo-Markin rejected the allegation and threatened legal action, turning the exchange into a broader political and legal dispute. For Dr Osae-Kwapong, however, the allegations should be considered against the backdrop of existing public perceptions about Parliament. He referenced Afrobarometer findings showing concerns about trust in the institution and perceptions of corruption.

“When an institution like Parliament is facing what I call a crisis of confidence, very low trust and high perceptions of corruption, when these things come out, and they are alleged, right? Because at this point they are allegations,” he said. He warned that fresh allegations could reinforce perceptions already held by sections of the public.

“But when these allegations emerge, what they do is, in the eyes of the public, it goes to reinforce an already held perception about the country’s key democratic representative institution in our democracy architecture.” According to him, continued erosion of public confidence could have serious consequences for Ghana’s democracy. “And when that confidence and that trust continues to erode, a time would come where citizens may lose total faith in, you know, that institution,” he said. He stressed that such an outcome would be particularly worrying because of Parliament’s constitutional role.

“And that doesn’t augur well for our democracy, for those that you expect, for example,… Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, Dr Osae-Kwapong said the concerns go beyond the individuals at the centre of the latest controversy. “Evans, as you rightly frame it, when you look beyond the individual that has triggered this broader conversation that we are having, it really goes to the heart of how we perceive the institution of Parliament, the key representative institution of the people,” he said.