9th Parliament determined to make MP position more attractive – Bagbin
The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin says the leadership of the 9th parliament is determined to make the position of Members of Parliament (MPs) more attractive than that of the position of a minister of state.
This he said had become imperative due to the fact that parliament remained the pivot around which democracy thrived, as such everything would be done to make the position unique in the country.
To this end, Mr Bagbin has called on members of parliament (MPs) to dedicate themselves, to the study of the 1992 Constitution and the standing orders of parliament, to adequately prepare themselves especially new MPs to enable them deliver on their mandate.
He also said MPs must strive hard to provide the needed leadership and sacrifices that would improve the living conditions of their people.
Mr Bagbin said MPs must not pass through parliament without allowing parliament to pass through them, since that was the only way their constituents would appreciate their work.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of a three-day orientation workshop for MPs in Ho last Saturday, the Speaker explained that the workshop which was initiated by Parliament aimed at equipping the lawmakers particularly the first time MPs with the necessary skills and knowledge on parliamentary activities to enable them to meet the task ahead.
According to Mr Bagbin, Parliament remained the heartbeat of democracy in the country, and the legislature should have been number one in the constitution followed by the executive.
Mr Bagbin bemoaned the absence of the Minority at the workshop on the grounds that it was costly, stressing that “What is happening in our parliament in recent times made it no longer a parliament, I knew there was climate change globally but I did not know that it had affected our parliament.’’
The Majority Leader, Mr Mahama Ayariga, urged the MPs to take the workshop more seriously and acquire knowledge, saying the Ghanaian Parliament has become an envy for the rest of Africa and that it was only through regular studies that could make them deliver on their mandate more effectively.
Topics to be treated included, the rights of Majority and the Minority, conflict management and consensus building, responsibilities of MPs, skills in advocacy, lobbying and mobilising resources for development among others.
FROM SAMUEL AGBEWODE, HO
