Consensus building will be my hallmark – James Agalga
The incoming Majority Leader of Parliament, James Agalga, has indicated that consensus-building will be his hallmark, but he will remain firm and decisive as he prepares to lead government business in the legislative assembly.
Mr Agalga, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Builsa North, said building bridges was the right approach, even when consensus could not be reached, rather than springing surprises on colleagues.
“Consensus-building is going to be my approach, but at the same time, I’ll be firm and decisive to ensure that government business is not obstructed.
“So, in as much as I would want to build consensus, if it turns out that the same cannot be achieved on very important matters that border on statecraft, at that point, I’ll be very decisive,” Mr Agalga stated.
He made the remarks on JoyNews’ PM Express programme on Monday night.
The yet-to-be-installed Majority Leader said his side of the House had a lot of respect for their colleagues in the minority and would not do anything to despise them.
“The fact that they are in the minority doesn’t mean that you treat with contempt views that they may hold. Our democracy creates room for minority views to be factored into whatever decisions we want to take,” he noted.
Mr Agalga expressed the hope that issues would not reach a point where his caucus would have to bulldoze its way through Parliament by relying on its numbers, saying the minority was reasonable.
He said, based on statements from the minority since his nomination, he expected to receive their cooperation.
“We’ll reach out to try to build consensus in the first instance, but if entrenched positions are taken, at that point, we would want to do what is needful because the Reset Agenda of the President is something that would have to be championed,” he emphasised.
Mr Agalga said the governing National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) overwhelming victory in the 2024 elections was not a fluke, explaining that Ghanaians had identified problems that needed to be fixed and expected the task to be undertaken with urgency.
“So, where consensus can’t be built, you whip your members to have your business done. Though we have the numbers, we don’t want to abuse that because it won’t augur well for good governance,” he said.
He noted that democracy was a deliberative exercise whose ethos required that minority views were not only listened to but also considered in decision-making.
“You don’t just sweep minority views under the carpet. You need to give them a hearing because they do have useful contributions,” he stressed.
A fourth-term lawmaker, Mr Agalga, brings considerable parliamentary experience to the position, having previously served as Deputy Minister for the Interior, Ranking Member of the Defence and Interior Committee, and Chairman of the Defence and Interior Committee.
He is expected to succeed Mahama Ayariga, who has been nominated as Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
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