Director of Communications for the United Party, Solomon Owusu, has criticised the apology issued by the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, to Interior Minister, Muntaka Mubarak, arguing that the statement stops short of admitting that the earlier claims about fraud in the ongoing security service recruitment exercise.
Speaking on Joy News AM Show on March 5, Owusu described the apology as a “big blow,” insisting that the minister merely apologised for how his comments were received rather than retracting the allegations themselves.
According to him, the minister’s statement suggested that he was sorry if the remarks were taken in bad taste, but it did not mean he was acknowledging that the claim was untrue.
“From where I sit, it does not necessarily mean that he is admitting that he lied. He only said that if what he said pained people, then he apologises,” Mr Owusu explained.
Mr Owusu argued that a clearer apology should have directly addressed the earlier claim that the technology being deployed for recruitment was a scam and imposed financial burdens on applicants.
To illustrate his point, he gave a hypothetical example, noting that a person can apologise for the way a statement was made while still maintaining the substance of the claim.
“You can apologise for the words you used but still insist on the claim itself,” he said, stressing that the minister should have apologised specifically for describing the system as fraudulent if the claim was indeed incorrect.
He warned that the wording of the apology leaves room for the minister to later argue that he only apologised for the language used and not for the substance of the allegations.
Mr Owusu also expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of parliamentary accountability mechanisms, citing past referrals to the Privileges Committee that, in his view, did not result in meaningful action.
He referenced an incident in November 2025 involving Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who was referred to the Privileges Committee after Parliament resolved that he should no longer represent Ghana at the ECOWAS Parliament.
Mr Owusu questioned what outcome came from that process, suggesting that such referrals often fail to produce consequences.
He further criticised what he described as a pattern of investigations that yield no results, citing the destruction of tables and chairs during a parliamentary vetting process that was supposed to lead to salary deductions for those responsible.
“At the end of the day, nothing came out of it,” he stated.
Mr Owusu also emphasised that Members of Parliament must remember they are in the House primarily to represent the interests of their constituents, not their political parties.
He revealed that preparations are underway to seek an interpretation from the Supreme Court on whether MPs, while in Parliament, represent the interests of their political parties or the people who elected them.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com