News:
Hon Mahama Ayariga
November 5, 2021
A member of Ghana’s delegation to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, is advocating for the review of how Country reports are presented in the Parliament.
According to him unless there is a review of how country reports are presented during Ordinary Sessions, “we would continue to have very jaundice report of the various member states which would make it very difficult for MPs to know what is actually happening in member states”.
In an interview, he further proposed that within a member state, if there are ten member delegations from a member state, with two dominant political parties and an independent, the opposition, ruling government and independent members should present their various reports to the Parliament.
“This is better than, they pretending to write a compromise report and present it to the Parliament. Sometimes the truth is buried and I think the reporting mechanisms should change for us to get the different perspectives of development in those countries for us to capture the full picture of the situation in the country.”
Then we can debate it and make the appropriate recommendations for action to be taken, and added that what he is seeing of reports being presented does not reflect what is happening in various member states.
“That is why sometimes we are taken by surprises because the truth is buried; you cannot bury the truth forever it would come out one day”.
He said in an interview with Ghanamps.com, when questioned about if his suggestion would not take too much time of the Parliament that has a lot to do, that the report should come way ahead of time and not when MPs are in plenary.
“We have been quite inefficient, it is just being efficient, we could get the reports quite well in advance before we meet in Abuja, it is a matter of giving all countries deadline that your report should come this or that date otherwise it would not be admitted then they would make sure the reports come each side would present reports and capture what they have to capture. It is up to you the individual MP to read the report”.
Again, the obligation is for the report to be presented and the individual MPs reading the report. “If you do not do that it is your own problem”, he stated.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com