The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and immediate past Majority Leader in Parliament,
Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, has formally announced his retirement from parliamentary business at the end of the current Parliament in January next year, 2025.
He is urging members of the governing New Patriotic Party especially in the Ashanti region to unite and work extra hard to retain power. He says this will make history, post Ghana’s independence, and after the December 7, 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary election.
The former Majority leader made his announcement at a meeting in Kumasi with some traditional leaders and leaders of the NPP in the Suame Constituency.
Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu is stepping down from parliamentary business from 6thJanuary, 2025 after serving a combined period of 28 years since entering Parliament House in January 1997.
His first eight years was as the Member of Parliament for the Old Tafo-Pankrono-Suame Constituency before it was separated into two constituencies. Since 2005, Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu has represented the people of Suame Constituency where he would have served two years by the end of the current term. Since 1997, he has held various positions first as the Secretary to the Minority Caucus in the 2nd Parliament of the 4th Republic and will step down, going on record as the longest serving Minority and
Majority Leader for 15 continuous years of eight and seven years respectively. Additionally, Mr. Mensah Bonsu has played an active role in international politics where he currently serves as the Vice Chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
The meeting in Kumasi was to formally announce his decision to retire from Parliamentary activities from January next year. There were traditional leaders at the meeting who encouraged him to venture into Parliamentary politics and offered him both spiritual and moral support during the period.
Also present were some of the Suame Constituency Executives of his party to whom he expressed gratitude for their support. Mr. Mensah Bonsu, told the chiefs that the formal announcement of his decision is to recognize and respect them for their respective contributions to his political life so far.
The Suame Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Maxwell Boakye, applauded the MP for his significant positive contribution toward the creation of Suame as an Autonomous Municipality and its speedy socio-economic development at this point. The Municipal Chief Executive enumerated various areas of contribution of Mr. Mensah Bonsu from education to health, roads to human resource development.
On the NPP’s fate in this year’s election, the former Majority Leader in Parliament said as part of his contribution towards uniting the party in Ashanti in an effort to ensure the NPP retains power, his initiative to unite the Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako and the MP for Manhyia South, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, is yielding positive results.
Mr. Mensah Bonsu said the NPP looks up to the Ashanti region to make history in Ghana’s politics and that, all must close their ranks in the interest of the party and its Flagbearer.
Meanwhile, despite stepping down for a new Majority Leader in Parliament, Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu remains the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs.
