Government had a rare opportunity to call the bluff of the Minority in Parliament but it blew it off, deliberately and regrettably.
So many things have been said about the opaqueness of some procedures of governance under the present crop of political managers.
Social media and the internet are important repositories of these infractions, readily available for pulling out and appropriate referencing.
We thought the opportunity to scrutinise one of the many governance integrity issues was presented when the Minority in Parliament sought to have ad hoc committee empanelled to probe the allegation of the loss made by Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod).
Same was rejected leaving skeptics and cynics to point excitedly at what for them is clear evidence of government having something to hide.
Whatever reasons are accountable for the stance of the Majority in Parliament, it is our position that such occurrences do not cast legislative work and governance by extension in good light.
Any action on the part of any side of the House of Parliament which smacks of dishonesty erodes confidence in governance, which runs counter to our efforts at building consensus.
The mileage given to the story was enormous because between the lines are provocative realities. For those who were tilted towards government communication efforts in the matter of issues raised by the Minority, this sad incident in the House would push them to have a rethink.
Governance demands accountability, and so when this suffers inhibition in the manner the subject under review did in the august House, uncontrollable apprehension sets in about the quality of integrity of our deputies and their readiness to stand by the national interest come what may.
That Ghanaians are slow at reacting but when they eventually do, such is decisive and poignant, was an observation made by the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
Government might be able to use the numerical advantage at its disposal to do its bidding in Parliament, but it should not be lost to it that matters about integrity cannot be indefinitely subjected to manipulations and outright propaganda.
The interests of the state is paramount and so our dealings regardless of where we find ourselves in must be shrouded in transparency and executed with the national interest as the guiding principle.
We have come a long way in our democratic journey and reached a notch where certain blemishes should not be witnessed in governance.
The predictability of the rejection of the Minority’s demand in Parliament by their Majority counterparts is as worrying as it is telling.
Even before that point was traversed, it was predicted, which is not a forecast worthy of plaudits.
It simply shows that the interest of the government outweighs the state’s, a disturbing conclusion which we should steer away from.
In the face of such predictabilities today, all that those whose positions are denied leverage in Parliament can do is compile the infractions for re-presentation to the people of Ghana when the date of reckoning is due.