Members of Parliament (MPs) recited the National Pledge in the House yesterday to open the fourth session of the Eighth Parliament, pledging allegiance to the country.
This was done after the Speaker, Alban S.K. Bagbin, conducted a roll call of all 275 MPs.
The development marked the start of the implementation of new Standing Orders approved by the House at its last meeting.
Speaker Bagbin explained that the last meeting of the House brought to an end the revision of Parliament’s Standing Orders, which had been ongoing for well over two decades.
“We all deserve congratulations for this achievement, particularly the members of the Technical Committee that worked on the revised Standing Orders,” he stated.
According to him, in consultation with the leadership, transitional processes have been put in place to help the House experience a seamless implementation of the new Standing Orders.
“There will be orientation for members and staff during the course of this meeting.
“This significant change in the new Standing Orders introduces a requirement for heads of state institutions to directly appear before Parliament to address queries related to their agencies,” Mr. Bagbin said.
He said the roll call will be done daily and charged any presiding speaker to ensure that this is done at the commencement of any meeting.
Pending Business
The Speaker said the House has before it the Affirmative Action Bill, which MPs must strive to pass before the end of this session.
“The same applies to the Bill on Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values; we must pass these two bills without any further delay. The Parliamentary Transition Bill and the Community Service Bill are the critical Bills: we must work on expeditiously,” he added.
“Hon. Members, in just a matter of weeks, we will be presented with the 31st State of the Nation Address under the Fourth Republic,” the Speaker revealed and continued, “We have a responsibility to keep the executive informed of the feel and sense of the people we represent and not patronise leadership.”
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House