The government will in the course of this meeting of Parliament present to the House the Free Senior High School Policy Bill, the Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has indicated.
Mr Afenyo-Markin mentioned that even though the constitution provides for the pro-poor education policy, enacting the Bill would render it legally enforceable.
In a parliamentary leadership engagement with the Parliamentary Press Corps in Accra yesterday, the Effutu MP said it was critical to commit successive governments to the policy so as to continue giving the Ghanaian child the platform to get educated irrespective of their financial background.
He explained that though the policy had been implemented since 2017, a future government might decide not to continue with it and would not be in breach of any law.
“If the Bill is passed and a government fails to implement the policy, a citizen can apply to the court as his bonafide and the court would exact justice in that citizen’s favour and that is the good news about this bill,” he said.
He said similar provisions were contained in the constitution but could not be enforced and to make the FSHS policy enforceable, there was the need to legislate same to bind governments to it.
The meeting was to brief parliamentary reporters on the planned activities of the legislature as it resumed sitting yesterday having been in recess since March.
Other bills to be considered during this meeting include the Presidential Transition Bill, Consumer Protection Bill, Housing Authority Bill, and the Architectural Registration Bill.
The rest are the Economic and Organised Crime Office Amendment Bill, Environmental Protection Agency Amendment Bill, Affirmative Action Bill, and the Vaccine Development and Manufacturing Bill.
The majority leader said having approved the new standing orders of the House, some committees, including Finance, Defence and Interior, amongst others would be realigned for effective parliamentary duties.
With the December 2024 election fast approaching, Mr Afenyo-Markin entreated reporters to play their gate-keeping role and sieve the information from the House and serve the public with accurate reportage.
Mrs Gloria Sarku Kumawu, the Deputy Clerk, Information Management Services, announced that in line with the new standing orders, some committees would be open to the media to deepen open governance.
She said the media must take advantage of the opportunity to serve as a credible bridge between the legislative assembly and the people to better inform them on the happenings not only on the floor of the House but at the committee level.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
