News:
August 5, 2020
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