Accra: Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has alleged that payments made to Members of Parliament during parliamentary activities are a longstanding practice. Speaking on TV3's The Key Points on September 6, 2026, Kpebu claimed such payments are routinely made to MPs during vetting exercises, committee meetings, legislative proceedings and parliamentary programmes.
According to Ghana Web, Kpebu asserted that "these payments didn't start today. It's normal... when a person is going for vetting, they usually give money out to their committee members. And it's not just even their committee alone," he alleged. He further mentioned various parliamentary activities, including the passage of budgets and legislation, as well as conferences and programmes held outside Accra, as instances where MPs receive payments.
Kpebu narrated an incident when some Members of Parliament visited a mining company and allegedly demanded their envelopes before disembarking from their vehicles. "I remember even some years ago, MPs had to go on a tour of a mining company. When they got there, they said they would not get down unless they were first given their envelopes," he recounted.
His comments come in the wake of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) announcing preliminary investigations into an alleged GHS70,000 payment connected to the work of Parliament's Appointments Committee. The investigation was prompted by a memorandum attributed to the Deputy Minority Leader, Patricia Appiagyei, which raised concerns about the alleged payment.
Meanwhile, Patricia Appiagyei stated that she has not been formally contacted by the OSP. Speaking on Joy FM's Top Story on September 5, 2026, she mentioned, "I have not been contacted by the OSP, and I can only confirm it when I have a formal invitation from the OSP to appear before him," she said.