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Author: Fred GhanaMPs

For career MP: “Delink selecting Ministers among MPs” —Muntaka

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Minority Chief Whip, Mohamed Muntaka Mubarak is advocating for delinking of the constitutional requirement that two thirds of Ministers be selected among Members of Parliament to pave way for career lawmakers.

According to him there is the need to have a constitutional amendment after two and half decade journey of parliamentary democracy under the fourth Republican journey of the country as there are those who come to the lawmaking chamber with the ambition of becoming Ministers.

He alluded to the fact that there are qualified Ghanaians who can become lawmakers but due to the heavy moneytisation of the political  system they cannot come to the House, and added that if as at the time he was entering parliament, monetization was that high, he could not have made it to the House.

“When I first came to the House, I did not know how the committee system operated let alone which of the committees are lucrative.  As a whip, before elected MPs are sworn into the House people demand that they be put into certain committees which are juicy. All because some people think they have spent a lot of money, and they need to get their money back”.

The Minority whip further who made the remarks at the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs forum that engaged the core leadership of the House, also pointed out that out of the two hundred and seventy-five lawmakers, less than one hundred of them do actual parliamentary work.

The forum was under the theme, “Nurturing career legislators in Ghana; prospects and challenges”.
The Asawase lawmaker lamented over the practice where there was less than eighty MPs on the floor the previous day but the following day more than hundred MPs have signed as present which does not speak well to the integrity of the House.

Again, he emphasized that the House is losing it because of the way MPs are elected. Unfortunately, those who want to stay and learn are being discourage, citing the recent NPP primaries as an example where twelve chairmen of different committees lost their seats because they had to stay back and take care of government business.

Those who don’t come to the chamber go out and get money to win their primaries; they are the people who you see coming back into the next eight parliament. “So who do you want to dedicate his or her time going to research to present committee reports?” he queried.

The Minority Chief Whip called for a second look into the conduct of Ministers who are MPs but do not make time for business on the floor of the House and lamented over the practice where other Ministers stand in for most of the absentee Ministers.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Second Deputy Speaker advocates for a second chamber system for Ghana

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In the wake of experience lawmakers, leaving the House with their years of knowledge, skills and experience without return to the House, Second Deputy Speaker, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin with twenty-eight years of in-depth knowledge working in the Ghanaian legislature, who is not coming back to the eight Parliament is calling for establishment of a second chamber.

He recounted that the country’s leaders at the early stage learnt from two different schools of parliamentary democracy; the American and the British system. While Dr. Nkrumah got training from the American system, Dr. J. B.  Danquah got his training from the United Kingdom.

He noted that the option of democracy we have chosen as a country, we have not taken time to learn it to understand it so there is so much ignorance couple with attitudinal   challenges which is making it so risky for one to opt to be in Parliament.

“We  need to look at that, when you raise this issues people just brush it aside they say we are  fight for ourselves  you do not go to parliament to talk about yourself,  you go to parliament to serve the people when you talk about service those who are practitioners  think you are coming from the moon”.

He made this remarks at a working dialogue organised by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs on the theme, “Nurturing career legislators in Ghana prospects and challenges”.

He expressed disappointment when the Majority Leader Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu announced that after the next eight Parliament he was not going to contest his seat again, “like Moses crying in the wilderness who is listening to our cry for MPs to serve for long years if not today,   I hope the next generation would take up career MPs”.

“I take parliament as a career for twenty eight years, it is a significant period of my life it is a profession or occupation even if I say it is, what are the opportunities for progress, that is why we are talking about a career”, he added.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Parliament to sit on Monday August 10, 2020

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As part of ensuring that the Businesses on the floor of the House are dealt with as the House prepares to go on recess, the House would sit on Monday, August 10, 2020 to conduct business and expected to sit beyond 2:00pm each day under consideration.

Majority Leader Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu in presenting the business statement on Friday indicated to the House that it is expected that the House adjourn sine die on Friday, August 14, 2020.

He was however quick to point out that the Minority members of the Committee had given indications that they would not go beyond Wednesday, August 12, 2020, hence they want to see the House adjourned sine die this day.

“Rt. Hon. Speaker having regarded the tall order of outstanding business earlier alluded to, members are entreated to endure just two days sitting days in order to dispose of all the important business pending before the House”.

Some of the outstanding bills before the House are, Development Finance Institution Bill 2020, Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill 2020, University of Skills Training and Entrepreneur Development Bill 2020 as well as a number of agreements presented to the House.

At the same time the House is expected to consider the receivable-backed Trade Finance facility for the purchase of cocoa beans for this year and next year crop season.

Two Ministers are expected to answer a question each in the name of their Ministries. They are the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources and Special Development and Initiative.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

“Without career lawmakers the Executive becomes over bearing”—Osei-Kyei

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Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has warn that as a country if we do not have career lawmakers the Executive arm of government would become over bearing and dominate the political space.

According to him the Executive arm of government would want to deal with a weak Parliament hence the need to strengthen Parliament and the key issue which needs attention is growing the Legislature and the lawmakers.

Mr. Osei-Kyei emphasized the need for political parties to choose Members of Parliament and the Executives at all levels and not engaging in conducting elections within the parties at the very lowest level.

And added that the process of conducting elections every four years does not exist in established democracies where party chairman or chairpersons have to move across the county to be elected at his or her own expense.

“If the person gets elected, he or she would have to work out in taking back funds invested, so with regional and constituency chairman, how can you elect a party general secretary who would say to himself, I do not want this person to lead the party he would do everything possible to frustrate the effort of a presidential candidate?”

He emphasized the need to develop career MPs by putting in measures in place to ensure longevity, and lamented that regardless of the number of terms one had served in Parliament, a second deputy speakers takes same salary with a first timer in the House as there is nothing to indicate one has served parliament for seven terms.

Delivering his closing remarks at working dialogue organized by his Ministry for core leadership of the House, first of its kind for the seventh parliament, he urged that the House structures its affairs to recognize long serving members who had served from the back bench to the top.

Again, nomination of deputy ministers does not reflect on the experience of the members in the House, adding all the governments have the president picking a deputy minister among first time MP who is not known and tried in the system.

“The various political parties need to do some serious introspection. In America a senator can serve for thirty eight years but that person is never given a derogative name like Mugabe. We would be laboring in vain if the issues of staying in the House of long does not reflect in discussion in our constitution’s chapter 10 of the 1992 constitution does not talk about function of Parliament and an MP”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Three Ministers to take twelve questions this week

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Majority Leader Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonus presenting the business statement for this week noted that three Ministers would answer twelve questions this week.

They are Minister of Energy, John Peter Amewu has seven questions tabled for his Ministry, Minister for Communication Ursula Owusu Ekufful has four question to attend to while Minister for Special Development Initiative, Hawa Common has a question to answer.

Leader of government business further indicated to the House that there would be a Committee of the whole meeting on Wednesday, August 5, 2020 just after adjournment and charge all members to make it a point to be there as it is to take a decision on an outstanding pertinent issue.

The House would sit on Monday August 3, 2020 and again expected to sit beyond that statutory time 2:00pm as stipulated by order 40(2) to enable it complete work for the week.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

“Akufo-Addo would win any clean election without intimidation”—Nitiwul

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Minister for Defense Dominic Nitiwul has said President Nana Akufo-Addo would win any election in Ghana which is clean devoid of intimidation violence no matter the day.

According to him candidate Akufo-Addo does not need to use the military to intimidate in order to be re-elected in the upcoming 2020 Presidential election.

“If the NDC has a policy they should bring it on the table they had been in power for eight years, we have had three and half years let us compare our records we would see who has perform better, people of Ghana would decide that is what we are calling for we are not calling for Akans and Ewes that they are hipping”.

Addressing members of the Parliamentary Press Corps, he pointed out that if the President was vindictive as the opposition would want Ghanaians to believe, he would not be the Defense Minister considering the village he comes from in the North.

“The military would be proactive and protect everybody and ensure there is peace in the country and emphasis that the agreement signed between the political parties not to bus people to the registration centres is obeyed.  We would stop NPP and NDC should they bus people in the case of Banda”.

The Defense Minister urged that individuals should be allowed to go to the various registration centres to register. He further added that there would be an issue if people are being prevented from registering. “If the president bus people we would stop him”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

We have justified our existence beyond 2020 election —Director MP

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Four months into Ghana’s presidential and parliamentary election on December 7, 2020 general election, and the critical role played by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (MPA) in the country’s democratic governance architecture has been affirmed.

Chief Director of the MPA, Dr. Evans Aggrey-Darkoh has noted that the Ministry has justified its existence under the current dispensation and he is very positive that whoever wins the upcoming election, the Ministry would still continue to exist to continue to play its critical role.

According to him the Ministry has provided and built the capacity of the sector Minister who is also leader of Government Business based on evidence it has provided interaction to key stakeholders who had provided them with key positions worked out into new legislative proposals.

And added that, the feedback had been put into policy perspectives which are being implemented to help Leader of Government Business deal with issues in Parliament at the same time help to shape analysis at the cabinet level which feed directly into policy direction.

In an interview to find out if the Ministry has justified its re-establishment after being in abeyance for the past eight years under the previous administration, he added that, the ministry  is in good position to be able to function within the governance architecture given the requisite resources and space to function.

Dr. Aggrey Darkoh further cataloged engagements embarked on by the Ministry to address the perennial problems between Members of Parliament (MPs) and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, (MMDCEs) which undermine the country’s development and development at the local level.

Strategically, the Ministry has position members of the Executive and the Legislature to work together for the interest of the ordinary Ghanaian, and advocated for interface between the two arms of government despite the hybrid system and the need to respect separation of powers.

He emphasized that the two major divide in the seventh legislature have always been part of the Ministry’s programme and pledged their unflinching support to the Ministry, and for him it seals approval of the good job the Ministry is doing.

“Our engagement in Koforidua we had the Senior Minister as a guest of honor and vice president when we engaged MPs and MMDCEs from the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo. Again in 2018 in Tamale we had the president as our guest speaker when we met MPs and MMDCEs from the Northern Regions”.

The Chief Director further pointed out that in all the engagements the Ministry had they did not record less than eighty of eighty-eight percent of persons invited and beyond that engagement there has been engagement with civil society organisations on the Right to Information implementation.

“We have built the capacity of members of the Parliamentary Press Corps for giving parliament the visibility, you can do all the work but if nobody report on you, you only know you exist and your good work might not be seen the spot light of your work”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Mahama should bring evidence of intimidation and we would act—Defense Minister

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Minister for Defense, Dominic Nitiwul has challenged former President John Dramani Mahama and flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to provide evidence of intimidation, suppression and harassment he is alleging to have taken place at the ongoing registration exercise by the Electoral Commission.

According to him should the former president provide any evidence, he as the sector Minister would take an action against and military officer found to be miss conducting him or herself, “we need evidence to his allegations”.

“Office of the former president is a respected one, there are three eminent persons who occupied that office, he is a candidate now, he and his followers should know this, so when he makes this type of allegation we need evidence”.

At a media briefing in parliament, the defense Minister told journalists that the briefing given the former president and presidential candidate of the opposition was wrong. His intelligence briefing was suspect and misleading.

On the brouhaha with the intimidation going on at Banda circulated in the media space Dominic Nitiwul noted that the military are ensuring that no one is bused to the registration center and the two parliamentary candidates of both the ruling government and the opposition have had an agreement on this.

He backed his argument by pointing out that the Regional Security Coordinating Council has had this understanding with the NPP and the NDC in Banda to have peace before and after the registration exercise.

“To see the General Secretary of the NDC in a video clip going round busing people should be condemned I do that with all the might I have in me, I want to assure Ghanaians RCSC task the military to be at Banda”.

Mr. Nitiwul emphasized that the military command has not deploy any of its personnel to suppress voters and what is happening in Banda,  what do you want the military to do when they see people being bused, we want them to simply walk there?

The political parties would have to respect their agreement and the former President John Mahama is wrong in citing voter suppression in the Volta Region, are the figures in the Northern and Volta Region lower than the national figures, no obviously same with Greater Accra?

“For him and his party to run the military is very unfortunate and it is not in their interest to run the military down, he was just the commander in chief just four years ago and I am very worried he is taking his time to run down the military. He did that at Aflao and was called out and he could not provide evidence he is doing it again”.

The Minister told the media the former president could not provide evidence in his earlier allegation of voter suppression in the Volta Region, “NDC knows that the Ghanaian military are professionals, they would not be used by any individual to do their dirty work for them”.

And added that the opposition knows that the current president is a democrat and has not intentions and not in his blood to use the military to do any dirty work for him, “he does not need it”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

All Committees in Parliament need basic training in legislation—Ras Mubarak

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Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak is advocating for all members of various Committees at the Legislature to have the basic training in legislation, as most of the Committees had to fall on either the Subsidiary Legislation or Constitutional Legal and Parliamentary Affairs in doing their work.

According to him it would go a long way to strengthen the various Committees work who most of the time rely on the two committees in their work.

He further underscored the need to have regular capacity building training for committee members, explaining that most of the time the committee members do not have particular experience in a subject matter for the Committee to benefit from.

The Kumbungu lawmaker who lost his primaries as a one term lawmaker despite being commended for catching up fast on parliamentary work, lamented over the system of electing lawmakers every four years and said it is not in the interest of the country.

He gave an example of the first Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei-Owusu being part of a meeting he attended who had to leave the meeting within a short time because there was an urgent issue at the constituency he needed to address despite being an integral part of the meeting he attended.

Mr Mubarak who was contributing at an engagement held by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs with chairman and their rankings in assessing the committee system also asserted that political parties need to take a firm decision on this worrying matter.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

MPA holds working dialogue with core leadership of parliament

Posted on by Fred GhanaMPs
Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (MPA) has held a working dialogue with leadership of Parliament on Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at the premises of the House.

The working dialogue is on the theme, “Nurturing career legislators in Ghana; prospects and challenges”, as a follow up to series of engagement the MPA has had with lawmakers to strengthen the institution play its critical role.

Today’s engagement is to examine the nature, causes and consequences of the high attrition among parliamentarian and discuss the prospects and challenges of nurturing career legislators.

And offer recommendations to address the high attrition rate in parliament and strengthen the relationship between Parliament and the MPA featuring chairman and ranking members of the Committee on Constitutional Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.

Lack of stability in the Legislature could also lead to erratic lawmaking as parliament is deprived of accumulation of legislative skills and experience, and the phenomenon impairs the chances of nurturing career legislators of the critical human capital needed for institutional development.

Researchers have attributed the high attrition rate in Ghana’s Parliament to a number of factors not limited to excessive monetization of Ghanaian politics, the tension between the functions of parliamentarians and constraining effects of the hybrid political system which is defining characteristics of the 1992 Constitution among others.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com