The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dome Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, who is wanted by Parliament over absenteeism, has been captured in a new video, treating Ghanaians to a song in praise of God sang by the celebrated musician Daddy Lumba.
The Minister and MP, for close to a year, has been absent from parliament. She prefers living in the United States, to performing her ministerial responsibilities, as part of the Akufo-Addo government. She still receives her salary as an MP and Minister of State.
Her absence, has also led to several criticisms from some of her constituents and members of her own New Patriotic Party, who have accused her of abstaining from parliament to stall government business. President Akufo-Addo, has refused to fire her from his government much to the displeasure of Ghanaian taxpayers.
She has, however, justified her absence with the need to attend to her motherly duties. As part of her motherly duties, the MP on Tuesday attended the graduation of her son, Kelvin Ohene Kantanka Safo-Agyapong, from Applewild School in Massachusetts, United States of America.
A video of a happy Sarah Adwoa Safo, singing a song of praise while on her way to her son’s graduation, has since hit the internet.
Singing along to Daddy Lumba’s Nea Nyame Tumi Ye praise song, the MP in the video exclaimed, saying, “I am soo happy!”
The video which emerged last Tuesday, has angered a former Minister of Information in the Mills administration, Sabbah Zita Benson to hit at Sara saying “they are using your taxes to pay her as Gender Minister and MP For Dome While she is comfortably cruising and chilling in America. If you talk koraa, they will send a private jet to her.
Zita continued, “she is celebrating her son’s completion of 8th grade. Congratulations but doesn’t she think it’s right for her to resign and be a full time mother if that’s what she wants? Instead of taking the poor tax payers money as salary for no work done every month? And yes, at the end of the four years, they will pay her ex gratia for both being an MP and Minister, even though she literally didn’t do any work. Nana addo and Adwoa Sarfo you do all
Meanwhile, the Dome Kwabenya MP, has been summoned to appear before the Privileges Committee of Parliament on July 6, 2022.
The MP, is expected to appear before the committee in person or via zoom to explain why she has missed more than 15 sittings of the House as stipulated in Article 97 (1c) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
The Privileges Committee of Parliament, has disclosed that it has sent a Zoom link to the Dome-Kwabenya MP, so she can appear for questioning in connection with her protracted absence from parliament without the Speaker’s permission.
The committee, said it had to resort to hosting Adwoa Safo online because all attempts to get her to fly back home to appear before the committee have proven futile.
The ranking member of the committee, Mr George Kweku Ritchett-Hagan, made this disclosure after the committee’s sitting on Wednesday, June 15, 2022.
Mr Ricketts-Hagan explained that the Minister of Gender and Social Protection has still not responded to the link.
She has been rescheduled to appear on July 6, 2022 following an earlier no-show.
The Committee is probing the protracted absenteeism of Ms Safo as well as two other MPs of the majority caucus, Henry Quartey and Kennedy Agyapong, who is coincidentally is the father of Kelvin Ohene Kantanka Safo-Agyapong, Sara’s son and the reason why she is still in the US. The two have two children; a boy and a girl.
In a recent interview, Adwoa Safo said she is not aware she has been invited or served a notice of appearance by parliament in connection with her previously scheduled appearance before the Privileges Committee on Friday, 27 May 2022.
“I am not aware such a thing has been given to me”, she told Accra-based Joy News on Thursday, adding: “I am just hearing it from you”.
“As we speak, I don’t know that I have been invited”, she stressed.
“I have to be served,” she added.
The Minister of Gender, Child and Social Protection said she will only return home from the United States when her sick son is declared fit and healthy.
