The Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has bemoaned what seems to be sharp contrasting views over the work of Members of Parliament and the Parliament of Ghana as an institution.
According to him, the limited engagement between Parliament and MPs on one hand, and the citizens on the other due to inadequate funding, has affected the democratic process in the country in many ways leading to the non-appreciation of the work and value of Parliament and the Member of Parliament.
Delivering a keynote address at the 2023 edition of the Speaker’s Breakfast Forum held on Monday, November 20, 2023, at the Alisa Hotel in Accra, he recalled that a resource person at the Post-budget workshop for MPs over the weekend had indicated that, “the Parliament of Ghana has been rated 88% as being an effective instrument of keeping Government on track.”
However, “Locally, the CDD’s Afro barometer rated us 8%. That is how low Ghanaians value Parliament and Parliamentarians in Ghana. So, you can see 88% internationally down to 8% locally.”
The Speaker then surmised that this is part of the reason for the high attrition rate in Parliament because the Members of Parliament get rejected by the people for all the wrong reasons at the polls.
“As a result of this, the choice of an MP is influenced by some consideration and not competence or care for the people… I believe regular engagements with constituents which is an integral part of representative democracy must be used as an effective tool for citizens’ participation in decision-making. I believe this will foster transparency and accountable governance,” he observed.
The purpose of the Speaker’s Breakfast Forum is to consolidate the relationship between Parliament and CSOs and explore new ways of working together for accountable governance.
This year’s Speaker’s Breakfast Forum under the theme: Thirty Years of Parliamentary Democracy under the Fourth Republic: Reflections on Citizens’ Engagement and the way forward, is in commemoration of Parliament’s 30th and STAR Ghana Foundation’s 5th anniversaries.
Source: Clement Akoloh||parliamentnews360.com
