The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, has bemoaned the limited engagement between members of parliament (MPs) and the public.
This, he said, has created a disconnect between MPs and the public, making it difficult for the latter to appreciate the work of Parliament and MPs.
Speaking at the Speaker’s Breakfast Forum, Mr. Bagbin, who touched on a number of vexed national issues, revealed that as a result, while internationally the Parliament of Ghana was rated 88 per cent as being an effective instrument of keeping government in check, locally the CDD-Ghana Afro Barometer gave Parliament only eight per cent.
As a result, he said, the choice of an MP was influenced by some considerations and not competence or care for the people.
This, the Speaker said, accounted for the high attrition rate of MPs who get rejected for all the wrong reasons at the polls.
“Regular engagement with constituents is an integral part of representative democracy and must be used as an effective tool for citizens’ participation in decision-making. I believe this would foster transparency and accountable governance”.
"Regular and structured engagement, including regular constituency visits by MPs with citizens, help to know how we have performed and what we can do to better our work," he said.
Alban Sumana Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament
Reforms
In line with this, the Speaker said Parliament had undertaken a number of reforms and restructuring to make it more engaging.
They included the breakdown of its Public Affairs Department into three — media relations, public engagement, and television, he explained.
Also, there was a department on Citizens Bureau to better engage the public and civil society organisation (CSOs) and think thanks, the Speaker said.
As a result, the Parliamentary Service Board has approved a new organogram which includes revised Standing Orders to take effect before the House goes on break on December 22.
Under the new Standing Orders, committee sittings will be open to the public and the media.
Also, the Citizens Bureau is facilitating the development of a manual titled: "Working with Parliament of Ghana, a guide to CSOs.”
The manual, apart from serving as a reference material for CSOs working on Parliament, would be an important resource for building the capacities of CSOs better, the Speaker said.
The Bureau has also been working to complete the "Open Parliament Action Plan,” he added.
That, Mr Bagbin said, would be inaugurated before the end of the month to create a government partnership caucus in Parliament to ensure that the House exercised stronger oversight over the partnership.
Read more: Support Parliament to deliver on mandate - Graphic Online
Speaker's Breakfast Forum
The forum organized by STAR-Ghana Foundation as part of its fifth anniversary celebration, aimed at consolidating the relationship between parliament and CSOs, and to explore new ways of working together for accountable governance.
It was on the theme: “Thirty years of Parliamentary democracy under the Fourth Republic: Reflections on citizens' engagement and the way forward”, and formed part of Parliament's celebration of 30 years of uninterrupted parliamentary democracy.
Read more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=UKgb7fqJ0sQ
The Chairperson of the STAR-Ghana Foundation Governing Council, Dr. Esther Ofei-Aboagye, in her remarks, said the importance of Parliament to Ghana’s democ¬racy experiment could not be underestimated because “it is the ultimate expression of our citizenship”.
Commending Mr Bagbin for his stellar leadership since becoming the Speaker in 2021, she observed that parliament has evolved in line with its constitu¬tional imperatives and needed to be upheld.
“In spite of everything, we have a robust institution that gives us confidence for the way forward and my confidence has further been enhanced by the five pillars of engagement parliament seeks to employ in reaching out to the people,” she stated.
The pillars, information, education, communication, consultation and participation, she said, would bring Parliament closer to the citizenry.
Background
The purpose of the Active Citizenship Lecture is to stimulate national conversations on harnessing and promoting Active Citizenship for inclusive national development, particularly within the current national context of economic crisis, crisis of confidence in national institutions and extreme party-political ’partisanship.
The Foundation developed and launched the Active Citizenship strategy in 2022 to inform its work. This strategy captures a broad view of the state of active citizenship in Ghana today, and the plethora of civic activities in the space. It identifies, assesses, and categorizes the various manifestations of active citizenship and offers an opportunity for a holistic landscape to foster inclusion and collaboration between the various actors.
Eunice R. Agbenyadzi, Head of Programmes, STAR-Ghana Foundation
The Foundation holds Active Citizenship dialogues as an annual event to provide space for national conversations. Since 2018, the Foundation has held two (2) dialogues. The first was held in 2018 and the second in 2021, themed “Active Citizenship for transformational change: Issues, Challenges and Entry Points”.
Read more: https://thebftonline.com/2021/01/07/alban-bagbin-elected-speaker-of-8th-parliament/