News:
June 14, 2017
Minority leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu is lamenting over the long practice, where Parliaments oversight responsibility is largely driven by the opposition Minority since the promulgation of the 1992 Constitution.
“It is regrettable, that oversight is not driven by both the Majority and Minority, this is my personal observation and it runs through the first Parliament to the current seventh Parliament of the fourth Republic”.
The Minority leader made this observation, when Parliament signed a phase two of a memorandum of understating (MoU) with STAR-Ghana a civil society, on strengthening transparency, accountability and responsiveness programme which ends in 2020.
He further noted that, “in our part of the world” those who are interested in holding the government accountable is largely the opposition, naturally because any time in opposition, “we are likely to benefit from embarrassing government or holding government accountable”.
And added that, we need to develop a new culture of oversight that makes the Executive more effective, more transparent and more accountable. “I trust the Speakers quest for major reforms in Parliament and believe before the third meeting comes to an end, we will have an effective new standing order”.
There cannot be accountability without Parliament, in many democracies Parliaments have authority and are able to sanction, the Tamale South legislator remarked. Better Parliaments make stronger democracies, “the House is made up of politicians and not experts, but collaborations with civil society like Star-Ghana will strengthen MP’s to become experts in some fields”.
The Tamale South MP urge the Speaker, RT Honorable Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye to make time in meeting leadership of the House which will go a long way help in strength working in the House.
By: Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com