Category: General

The Fourth Deputy Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Madam Adja Satu Camara Pinto of Guinea Bissau said the tension between the Executive arm of government and the Legislature led to the president dissolving Parliament. This came up on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 when the President of the Commission, Jean Claude Kassi Brou presented a report to the plenary on state of the Community. During discussions, lawmakers wanted to know about the political situation in Guinea Bissau.

When they pointed out that they did not hear the president touching on the political situation in that country, despite the fact that they have read in the news that the President H. E. Umaro Sissoco Embalo action linked to “persistent and unresolvable differences” She pointed out to her colleagues at the plenary that between 2017 and 2018 her country had a political crisis with their parliamentary system of government; their constitution gives some powers to the Executive arm of government.
“This constitution has created a lot of problem and continues to create problem, so in 2017 and 2018 there was an impasse; the constitution says the head of the Executive should come from the Parliamentary Majority but should be appointed by the President of the Republic”. For the reason of internal politics he refused and appointed somebody else not from the parliamentary Majority without consulting them. That brought about the impasse until ECOWAS adopted several measures and eventually it was in Lome Togo that they found a consensus.

So that they could have a legislative elections what a prime Minister then accepted by the president, the Parliamentary Majority, they were in Lome Togo July 2018 and went on to Legislative elections; the result came out that the Prime Minister came out of this new Majority since this was a case of repetitive crisis, the Senate said the constitution should be reviewed. Because of the tension surrounding the whole situation, then experts were proposed by the ECOWAS commission to come and revise it, but the work of the constitution is the primarily business of the country.

The experts went into Guinea Bissau and did their work but there was the need for a truce between the Executive and the Legislature, and this debate has been on going for some time; and pointed out that the above was not the only reason. “We have invested a lot to ensure that there was election in 2018, so that things can come back to normal. we wanted to find solutions to these problems which would be acceptable to the people of Guinea after all it is their country”. And the election is supposed to take place at the end of the year, up to about six months they have to support so that the election takes place under good conditions in other that the country does not go through this difficult political situation in the future.

Also as a member of the ECOWAS Parliament, she know there was a question to the president of the Commission and want to thank him for the report he gave on the situation in the Community, we are satisfied with the clarification. “Our constitution says at the dissolution of the National Assembly, the Bureau and standing Committees continue to work until a new Parliament is elected and it is after only they have been elected that the bureau and the standing committees stop working. We have been dissolved but it’s only the plenary that would not function”, she stated.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com/Abuja-Nigeria

A member of the Nigerian delegation to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament,  Awaji-Inombek D. Abiante said sections of his colleagues including himself were not satisfied with responses given by the President of the Commission, Jean Claude Kassi Brou when he presented the State of the Community Report to the plenary on Tuesday, June 14, 2022.

the report touched on the Economy, Trade, Free Movement of people, the political situation in the sub-region. According to him he wanted further interrogation on the presentation and what should be done is to redirect the procedures, shape it, create it, and allow for comprehensive and digestive debate on these issues.

“So that when you go home, you would be satisfied and know the areas that are challenging to your own community and country. But if we keep allowing these omnibus presentations, no time to interrogate issues, we may not get the best out of the commission”, he lamented in an interview.
As to whether when MPs are elected, it would enable them have time to do the kind of interrogation he alluded to, he noted that before the election of ECOWAS MPs there are questions that should be answered. “ How do you draw the limitation to the constituencies, how do you answer the question of sovereignty, how do you implement some of the laws and legislations and opinions that you raise, how do you enforce it on member states; until these questions are properly answered it would be a chase for tomorrow”.

Again, a presentation has been made, comments have been taken, answers have been attempted, what is now left is for us to determine whether the answers actually solve the problems or go to address the problems. “It is not the question of who presented the report but the report as it was presented, this has always been the routine, it simply means parliament should do more of interrogation.

If similar reports have been presented over the time and you have not been satisfied and you have not been able to interrogate the report at plenary you should expect it to be the same”. And if they interrogate it further and discredit the ones they feel are not competent it would throw up challenge to the commission to work better.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com/Abuja-Nigeria

The Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has directed the Committee on Defence and Interior to visit the Islamic Senior High school at Abrepo in Kumasi where the police visited the brutality on the students on Monday, June 13, 2022. The Speaker asked the committee to visit the Regional Police Command to make in known to them that they are awaiting their report, and after the report parliament is entitled to take further action.

The Committee on Defense and Interior would also be at the school and hospital to sympathize with them and see the condition in which the victims are. According to him, it would not be prudent for parliament to institute any fresh investigation into the matter since the police is already investigating through the directive of the Inspector General of Police

He advised that security authorities should not be releasing police with live bullets in such situations.
The Speaker’s directive followed a call by the Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed Muntaka for the incident to be referred to the Committee on Defence and Interior as an addition to the already referred issues of police brutality that the committee was working on.

Mr. Muntaka was unhappy about the continuous unprofessionalism being exhibited by the police on ordinary citizens, and believes an independent investigation and public hearings would bring the truth out as it happened at Asawase when some seven Moslem youth were killed by the police.

About 38 students were on Monday rushed to hospitals across Kumasi when the police allegedly opened tear gas and fired live bullets through the crowd while they were demonstrating over frequent road accidents in front of the school.

The students blocked the road in front of their school in the course of their protest because according to them several calls to have a speed rump erected to control over speeding yielded no result.

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As the Community Parliament prepares to receive country reports from twelve Members States at the plenary for discussion this week, a member of the Liberian delegation, Jonathan L. Kaipay is advocating for sector experts from the ECOWAS Commission to be part of the process.

According to him there is the need for MPs to have time to debate and understand the issues concerning the sub-region where technical experts at the commission would give them their opinion.

“Plenary is a higher decision making body, Commissioner for Finance, Security should be here in the plenary when the reports are being presented. For example, when Liberia presents its report, a technical person can analyze the report, give us a bigger picture, and let us talk about it. Same with agriculture, health and the others the reports can be examined by more professional experts”.

He further added that there should be more time allocated to issues discussed at the plenary; if they have to hold people accountable. Discussion on Guinea and Mali should have a day or two allotted to it, there is nothing wrong with that, he stated.

“We would get to the point in the future where, we have an elected body that is not accountable to anybody, you are not afraid when you are going back home if your parliament is going to change you or not because you are not from the ruling party”, he lamented.

And as the Community Parliament moves towards its independence, the plenary is yet to hear from the Commission on what have been achieved so far at the start of 2022. “But I do not think we have made much progress for us to make headway”.

Also it is for the Authority of Heads of states to develop a strong political will if they say they  are putting sanction on Guinea, they need to be proactive,  “how did Guinean  get to where it is today we were in this same chamber there were reports from Guinea that the democracy there was challenged what did we do for example it is what it is,  what do we do now to be able to change democracy?”.

Senator, Jonathan L. Kaipay noted in an interview that he visited Guinea in recent times, the people there are living relatively a peaceful life, there was no harassment, he drove there spent some nights and came back.

Democracy, he said should be seen to be upholding co-existence, reconciliation; there should be tolerance.

Again, “we need full legislative powers,  if we have it then we need to exercise it and people need to be accountable to this parliament. We talk about country report, they are made, even before the report there are indicators people who visit different countries you have the Commission which is the Executive arm of government of the regional body which does the Executive work, you have people who are responsible for security, Agriculture, the different sectors; how do we demand that these people give realistic reports?”.

He again pointed out that the Commissioner on Agriculture was at the plenary to talk about his sector on the floor, “how can an MP make a contribution for just two minutes?” Parliament, needs to hold people accountable and they need to set time lines and for people to report back in actual terms.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com/Abuja-Nigeria

A member, of the Liberia delegation to the Community Parliament, Senator Jonathan L. Kaipay has said the Community Parliament should be concerned with the development in Guinea Bissau where the president has dissolved the Parliament of that country.

According to him it’s a dangerous move, an affront to democracy within the West African sub-region; and added that he would not be in Abuja Nigeria if his president can go and dissolve Parliament.

In an interview, he pointed out that other Heads of States within the sub-region can engage in similar act and make reference to what is happening in Guinea Bissau; “ECOWAS should concentrate on safe guarding the constitutional provision that protect the ordinary people. You cannot have the people electing their MPs and one president gets up, drinks a cup of coffee and says the rest of you guys go and sit down, that is not democracy”.

And added that it is dictatorship as democracy comes with responsibilities and consequences as the tendency of democracy should be upheld.

He was however, quick to point out that Guinea Bissau is a Portuguese speaking country, one cannot read their constitution and it is difficult to get into it, “but in my mind and understanding the tendency of democracy I think it is wrong for a sitting president to do that”.

He questioned how the President of Guinean Bissau can dissolve his cabinet at his pleasure; “how do we dissolve a parliament that was elected and you were also elected, and you are still in power?”

Mr. Jonathan L. Kaipay pointed out that these are things that spark out political tension and bring about conflict.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com/Abuja-Nigeria

Former Members of Parliament are seen as those who have contributed their expertise, time,resources and energies in strengthening our law-making institution.They were ready to serve the nation when others did not see the importance of Parliament. Our Parliament in the 4th Republic was inaugurated on the 7th January, 1993.
The maiden Speaker to occupy the speakership seat was late Justice Daniel Francis Annan.He once served as a member of Provisional National Defense Council headed by the late former head of the ‘Provisional Government’ Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings.
Parliament is a creation of the Constitution.It is a key principal organ of the state.
It is seen as the nerve centre of Democracy.Its absence destroys our nascent democracy.
The current one is the eighth Parliament of the 4th Republic.

Qualified Ghanaians are elected by the citizens to a 4 year term of office.
An MP tenure is unlimited unlike that of the President. (President,two terms only).
It is a sad spectacle to see the conditions of majority of our former legislators; health-wise, finance and their physical appearances. Their situations are nothing to write home about. Appalling is not an exaggeration.
Some of them are seen almost begging to survive, not quite when they leave or retire from Parliament.
Ironically, these our honourable former Members are beneficiaries of the ex-gratia and regularly received their salaries, benefits and other allowances when in office as our representatives. Therefore, they are persons considered under controversial Article 71 of the 1992 Constitution.
Executive, Legislature, Judiciary and ‘the rest’ are not ready to see to the amendment of that provision in our Constitution.
The reason is obvious.
Why Are Our Former MPs Struggling After **Parliament ?
My observation shows the following reasons;
1 Poor planning on the part of the members whilst in office, they hardly plan their departure from the House one day either through losing their seats in national elections or through their parties’ primaries or elections.
2 Accumulating loans: most members of the House go for loans from financial institutions to either assist their constituents, or lavishly spend on some ‘daughters’of Eve because of some brief satisfaction.(utility tasks). Alleged. Others invest in some investment portfolios which do not yield any positive outcomes.
Huge promises made by them during the electioneering campaigns, also compel them to undertake some capital intensive infrastructure or projects which fall under the purview of the central government.Sadly, their private savings go into those projects.
Law-makers have become providers of roads, schools, hospitals and other social amenities.
3 Expensive lifestyles: sadly, some members go agog, living in some extravagant lifestyles forgetting where they came from and their future as members of the House.
In a chat with one of the former Members of Parliament, he stated that as soon as he was sworn in as an elected member of the House, it wasn’t long before the financial institutions started offering him juicy loan facilities. He enjoyed them thinking that he had more years to settle them. According to him, by the time he realized, his four years in office as a member of the House had come to an end.
Today, he still pays his loans plus huge interest. The ex-gratia got exhausted because of the loans he had to settle to his creditors.
He also stated that pressure from family members, party apparatchiks, his constituents, and friends contributed in making him a ‘pauper’.
He could not even save to meet his out-of-office life.
This is enough evidence for the current members of the House to learn lessons from what has befallen their colleagues or predecessors, who are out of the House.
Unfortunately, some of them(former MPs) are not professionals and therefore can not do any profitable job after Parliamentary job. They made Parliamentary job their only source of employment and losing their seats is related to the end of their careers.
I pray that the current Speaker of the august House, who has been a pillar in the survival of our Parliament will counsel the current members not to fall into the similar remit of their seniors or predecessors.
Parliament provides other opportunities too. It is up to the members to take advantage to grab those opportunities and plan very well and denounce some unproductive payments and lifestyles. They should try and live simple, modest, and organized lives.
Our members of Parliament must be careful not to make themselves paupers before becoming ex-MPs.
A member of the House should be able to live a reasonable and happy life even after his or her Parliamentary assignment or term.
No condition or office is permanent except the kingdom or office of Allah.
Salaam.

By: Ahmed Osumanu Halid
Nima-441

Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Rt. Hon Alban Bagbin participating in the 2022 edition of Green Ghana Day, a day set aside to plant trees to help recover ghana’s lost vegetation cover said the issue of environmental and climate change challenges should not be left to the scientists alone.

“Climate change is such a huge issue that it requires a strong, concerted, consistent and enduring action by governments”, so says the Australian musician, Peter Garrett. Indeed, these require strong partnerships to forestall the destruction occasioned by environmental degradation”.

He asserts that the issues of the environment and climatic change have become topical in today’s world, not because they are fashionable, but because they are existential issues for you and I, and every living thing on this planet. There is a veritable threat to human existence, which is typified by the impact of environmental degradation on the climate and on our lives, he stated.

According to him speeches like the one he is delivering are the least important, particularly in a situation in which when we look to the south, the sea is rising around us all the time.

Parts of La in the Greater Accra have been completely wiped off the surface of this earth, and it is gradually being forgotten; it was a growing beach community called Bortor, today hardly remember again.

Huge portions of Keta, Dzelukope and allied beach communities and settlements in the Volta Region have been completely eclipsed by tidal waves.

Today residents in these areas point to kilometres into the sea to show where their houses once stood and the European cemetery laid and c cannot afford such occurrences anymore.

“The time to act is now, and that is why we are all here we, need to dial the re-tune knob on climate change”.

He added that his only wish is that today’s annual event will not be for just tree seedlings planting: instead, let make it a tree growing exercise. “Let us look out for the trees we plant and make sure they grow. That is the best way to make progress on climate change”.

You might have noticed that parliament is not sitting to do its daily business today, Members of the House – both the Majority and Minority groups – have travelled to their constituencies, to join their constituents in the tree planting exercise.

This bears testimony to the statement once made by the former President of the United
States, Barack Obama, that “saving the planet isn’t a partisan issue”. No matter what our political persuasion is, it behoves on all Ghanaians to join in the efforts at protecting our environment, and by extension saving our planet.

It is our elders who say that “a toad does not run in the day time for nothing. If you see a toad running during the day time, it means there is something after its life”. The Hon Minister for Lands and Natural Resources has told us specifically, what it is that is after our lives. He took us through the statistics and other data in relation to the threat on our existence.
Vanessa Nakate, a Ugandan climate activist, said “climate change is more than statistics; it is more than data points; it is more than net-zero targets. It is about the people: it is about the people who are being impacted right now”.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Speaker of the National Assembly, of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Rt. Hon Femi Gbajabiamila has said many lawmakers are not aware that the Legislative arm of government is the most important of the government architecture in any democracy.

According to him many of them have been made to understand that the most important arm of government is the Executive arm and this has been even contested in advance democracies as it has the most enduring and impactful.

House of Representative Speaker further underscored the need to understand and recognise the wealth of their role, “it’s when you begin to make the kind of impact that is required of you, as  the framers of our constitution  envisage,  whether written or not written the role that is required of us”.

And further called for the understanding of the reason why they exist and their role has been debated over and over again and hope the ECOWAS Parliament would begin to set the pace for that better understanding their role in any democracy.

He made this remarks on Thursday, June 9, 2022 when he address the Community Parliament at the opening of this year’s Ordinary Session in Abuja-Nigeria.

And as a result of parliamentary diplomacy Nigeria has been able to resolves issues that the Executive arm of government were unable to resolve because between parliaments to Parliaments a lot can be achieve.

 For example  South Africa during the Xenophobia ere, they  did it in Ghana on trade issue Nigerian traders in Ghana facing challenges and Ukraine, Russia  war where they  had their  students there the chairman of foreign Affairs Committee was able to work out  to bring students in Ukraine  back home.

“We did it with dispatch you might,  sometimes you need draw the line you recognise your role as the representative of the people you do not strict junket yourself into just making laws,  sometimes you go beyond that we should start thinking outside the box”.

Despite the different cultures we should work together and he believes that is pertaining in the Community parliament, they speak different languages here and have to use translators when someone is speaking English, French and Portuguese.

 There is one langue which is the development of the African continent language of democracy this are things, that  we should hold on to and I believes because of the  integration process is about cooperation by the time,  “we celebrate 50 years of this parliament I believe everybody should be able to speak each other’s language, we need to start learning now”

The level of discussion in the Community Parliament whenever the Community Parliamentarians come and leave,  it’s something  they always   tap into and should not be taken as a formality of sitting they  come out with the necessary legislative input and impact to assist their  individual countries and collectively the role of the parliamentarian.

And when lawmakers speak with one voice as a sub region and continent they can achieve more results, and in this direction several speakers of African parliaments have come together to set up an association of Conference of speakers of African Parliaments which goes beyond the sub region.

 “I believe with this collaboration among us would achieve results certainly Africa and West Africa have come of age how do we dot the I’s and cross the T’s to take us to where we should be?”

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com/Abuja-Nigeria

The Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Rt. Hon. Dr. Sidie Mohamed Tunis has stressed that the exercise of the competence of Members of ECOWAS Parliament has become increasingly important, especially in the wake of the regional and global political and security situation.

He also highlighted that the COVID-19 Pandemic, coupled with the ongoing Russian military operation in Ukraine, have resulted in global economic slowdown, soaring food and energy cost and strain on government resources that are having far reaching consequences on the region and the world, stressing that the “the onus is, therefore, upon us to support policies that address these day-to-day issues”

The Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Rt. Hon. Dr. Sidie Mohamed Tunis went philosophical while drawing attention to these challenges in his opening speech at the 2022 First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament.

According to him, it has become evident that our people are much more concerned with the decisions we make and the ripple down effects they have on them. Each time he travels across the region, I am confronted with the hard questions: What is ECOWAS doing about food shortages? What is ECOWAS doing about rising prices of food and energy? What is ECOWAS doing about poverty eradication?

“These are the questions we must address. Not only with policy formulations and conferences, but with actionable solutions those are indisputable. As we do our work over the next few days, I pray we place much more emphasis on practical results. We cannot afford to fail our people”, he affirmed.

The Rt. Honourable Speaker disclosed that in fulfillment of their responsibility, the session will be dedicated to the following: “a. Presentation by the President of the ECOWAS Commission on the Implementation of the Community Work Programme; b. Presentation of Country Reports by National Delegations; c. Consideration of a number of Referrals by the Plenary and the responsible standing Committees; d. Presentation to the plenary by some of our Partners on issues of relevance to the Community; e. Plenary Debates and other agenda items”.

Furthermore,  noted that, notwithstanding the enormity of the task at hand, Parliament’s involvement in the decision-making process complies with democratic tenants and no amount of pressure is enough of an excuse to short circuit the procedures that should govern our decision-making processes.

Dr. Tunis also stated that the sessions provides the MPs with the opportunity to discuss wide ranging topical issues of the Community and render opinion on a number of referrals that have been presented to them. In his words, “The Supplementary Act provides that we shall reflect our views on issues of the Community by Opinion or Mandatory Assent. This is a sacred duty we have been performing since the inception of this Parliament and once again have the opportunity to do so through plenary debates, Committee sittings and resolutions deriving therefrom”.

These, he said, “have all been geared towards addressing the welfare of the people we serve. As representatives of the people, our foremost duty is to act in accordance with the wishes of the people, through providing effective oversight and facilitating consultations in the decision-making process”.

With regard to other issues facing the region, the Speaker observed, on  the political and security situation, you would recall that the Parliament passed a resolution during its last Extraordinary Session in Monrovia on the Political and Security situation in the region, specifically Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso.

“We commend the efforts of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government for the decisions reached at its Extraordinary Summit, held in Accra, Ghana on 4th June, 2022. I wish to use this medium to express Parliament’s continued readiness to support the implementation of the decisions. We also welcome the ongoing process of the review of the Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance considering the new demands and challenges confronting our region”, he also stated.

According to him, the backsliding of democracy and devastating effects of conflicts necessitates that we deviate from the old approach of treating issues as they emerge and adopt a more proactive approach in addressing them. In addition to reviewing the protocol, we must also evaluate our conflict prevention framework as well as our early warning mechanisms.

And it  is important to point out that National Sovereignty cannot be an excuse for us to sit, fold our arms and watch issues that have potential threats to peace and stability in the region, being perpetrated without any form of reaction, he further argued.

“May I remind us that next year will be very pivotal for democracy across the region, with  elections scheduled to hold in three Member States; the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone, our role in ensuring that the democratic processes are conducted in a way that guarantees the best possible outcomes cannot be overemphasized. In coordination with the ECOWAS Commission, we must begin our engagements long before polling day to ensure successes in all three Member States”.

In so doing, he  congratulate the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, particularly the political class, for the successful conduct of primary elections of the two major political parties. We acknowledge the complexities of the Nigerian society; hence we admire the maturity and tolerance exhibited so far.

“As we inch closer to full scale political activities, let me seize this opportunity to advice all actors on the need for additional tolerance in this anxious period of full-scale political activities. The sub-region and indeed the whole world look up to Nigeria and expect a successful, as well as free, fair and peaceful election in early 2023.

 “On a sad note, terrorism, kidnapping and banditry continue to cause major setbacks for security in the region. In Burkina Faso, Mali and the Federal Republic of Nigeria the situation has worsen. We condemn the recent attack on the Kaduna International Airport and the Abuja-Kaduna train that led to the loss of innocent lives and injuring to many others; the gruesome attack at St. Francis Catholic Church in Ondo State that led to the killing of many, and many others unfortunate deaths across the region”.

 “Our role as a Parliament in the integration of West Africa can expand beyond its current scope, when we attain direct elections of Members into the ECOWAS Parliament. As an institution, the ECOWAS Parliament represents the citizens of Member States, and it is only by and through this Parliament that a closer union between ECOWAS and the people can be achieved. We know that achieving a fully elected Parliament will not come easy, but we are committed to achieving this democratic legacy, knowing that nothing good comes easy”.

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The Minister for Defence Dominic Nitiwul said by convention and practice, the Office of the Speaker of Parliament is not assigned military personnel to protect him/her but rather Police personnel.

According to him the military personnel who were assigned to the Office of the Speaker were withdrawn for necessary approval to be sought before their re-assignment when necessary.

This came up on the floor of the House on Thursday, June 9, 2022 in  response to a question posed by  Dr Rashid Pelpuo MP for Wa Central  who  wanted to know why the military attachment to the Speaker’s Office  Rt.  Hon Alban Bagbin  was withdrawn.

The Minister further told the House this information has been communicated by the military to the Office of the Rt. Hon Speaker

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