Alban Bagbin
Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has made a passionate appeal to the electorate not to vote out Members of Parliament (MPs) every four years in order not to deny them the needed experience for the workings of the House.
He said the high attrition rate among MPs has severe consequences on the work of Parliament, including loss of valuable knowledge and experience, and ability to perform, advising the public to allow them to stay on longer.
Speaking at the opening of a three-day workshop for members of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) in Parliament on Monday, the Speaker recounted his experiences at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting in 2001.
“I refer to my 28 years in the House. I recall when I was the Minority Leader in 2001, I was together with a delegation of Ghana’s Parliament led by the Rt. Hon. Peter Ala Adjetey went to the IPU and I had a very good opportunity to be elected as the Vice Chair of one of the committees,” he stated.
He continued, “And there was a contest for the executive position of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Some of us ventured. When the other competitors introduced themselves, the youngest was 26 years in Parliament.”
“I was just nine years old. I mean, do I need any advice to pull out of the contest. In this game, monkeys play by size. So, it is good and proper to allow elected Members of Parliament to mature in Parliament.
“You can’t keep changing your Members of Parliament like shirts and expect to reap good dividends. You must give them the time to grow to be able to produce the dividends that you want,” Mr. Bagbin indicated.
By Ernest Kofi Adu