The members of the current “hung” Parliament have been considered more effective at scrutinising the government’s spending.
The recent Afrobarometer survey results released by the Centre for Democratic Governance, (CDD) indicated that almost 46 per cent of Ghanaians think that the composition of the 8th Parliament has made MPs “somewhat more” or “much more” effective in scrutinising government spending.
But 39 per cent say they do not see MPs effectiveness at passing laws or building consensus among political parties in the current Parliament.
“Survey findings show strong public support for the central role of MPs in making laws and holding the president accountable. But few citizens think MPs listen to what their constituents say, and most give their elected representatives a negative performance review,” the report said.
It further indicated that huge number of respondents endorses the role of MPs in a democratic system.
“More than eight in 10 (82%) say Parliament should monitor how the government spends taxpayers’ money, and three-fourths (75%) say MPs should make laws for the country even if the president does not agree,” it stated.
The report however indicated that Ghanaians are divided on who is responsible for ensuring that MPs do their jobs. While 38 per cent say it’s the president, 35 per cent say it is the voters.
Again 85 per cent of Ghanaians say their MPs “never” or only “sometimes” listen to what people have to say with only 14 per cent saying parliamentarians “often” or “always” try their best to listen.
“More than two-thirds (71%) of Ghanaians give MPs a failing grade on their job performance over the past year,” it indicated.
Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life.
Eight survey rounds in up to 39 countries have been completed since 1999. Round 9 surveys (2021/2022) are currently underway. Afrobarometer’s national partners conduct face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice.
The Afrobarometer team interviewed a nationally representative sample of 2,400 adult Ghanaians in April 2022.
A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri