Minority Member of Parliament for the Afia Constituency, has issued a statement to kick against the proposed Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunication Messages Bill.
The bill that is currently in its consideration stage in parliament, will essentially grant government access to record telephone calls and messages of individuals.
The bill when passed into law, will also give government the power to intercept postal packages upon suspicion of threat to the security of the country or any other individual.
In his statement on the floor of parliament Thursday, the MP made a case against the bill on grounds that it contravenes the individual's right to privacy.
According to him, the ruling National Democratic Congress and the president John Mahama have been compelled by the US government to enact a law that will permit them to listen to all secret conversations of the Ghanaian citezen.
Below is the full statement by the MP
In order to check the Gitmo Detainees, the NDC and Mahama government have been compelled by the US government to enact a law that will permit them to listen to all our secret calls. When this bill becomes a law, all our secret calls will become publicly available information, legally speaking.
Even the Almighty God who created us allows us to have secret covnersations. This is why he allows me to keep something on my mind without letting someone know. And this why I choose who should know my secrets. How come the NDC and the Mahama government want to take away this right from us?
NDC and Mahama cannot impose terrorists on us and cause us to loose our right to secret conversation. Just sit down quietly and imagine the kind of things you say secretly and imagine that as soon as you say this on phone, it is no longer a secret because some one is listening as a result of this law. Folks, Ghanaians are finished.
All businessmen, contractors, pastors, married couples, youth teachers, politicians, chiefs, Queen mothers, journalists, traders, drivers, all workers of Ghana must now know that this is just one of the outcomes of detaining terrorists here in Ghana. The NDC and Mahama must simply be voted out so that our privacy will respected by the state.
Meanwhile, IT expert, Maximus Ametorgoh has also raised concerns about the bill. According to him, government wants to listen, tap, copy, record and intercept your messages via the telecommunication system through the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunication Messages Bill before parliament.
In an exclusive interview with , he said the new bill is a clear attempt by government to infringe on the privacy of people.
He said the bill is akin to the US National Security Agency (NSA) scandal in which it collected the telephone records of tens of millions of Americans.