Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin
THE SPEAKER of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has called on Civil Society Organisations (CSO) to collaborate with the legislature to educate the citizenry on the roles and functions of parliament.
He observed that civic education on the roles and functions of Parliament were critical to helping citizens appreciate the contribution of the institution to the democratic process while helping parliamentarians to focus on their core responsibilities.
“Parliamentarians should not be seen as the main development agents by citizens. The perceptions and expectations associated with this often lead to the neglect of their core responsibilities”, he said.
The Speaker made the remarks on the opening day of a two-day West Africa Parliamentary Monitoring Organizations (PMO) conference which was organized by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) on Tuesday.
He advised PMOs not to regard the process of monitoring parliamentary work which includes gathering information, analysing and measuring performance as an “imposed control instrument”.
“Definitely, the information and data gathered will not be used to find fault but to find remedy” Mr. Bagbin noted.
Routine collection of information, he noted, should focus on learning and improving on practices, ensuring accountability of resources, empowering citizens to participate in the work of parliament and deciding on the progress of parliamentary work, as well as the level of citizens’ engagement in cognizance with empirical evidence.
Furthermore, the speaker said monitoring should measure interventions based on the quality and quantity of outputs or activities, outcomes, effects and impact as a result of interventions and also the long-term effects of activities triggered by intervention.
PMOs within the West African sub-region, he said, also have responsibilities for sensitizing citizenry on their roles in resolving emerging issues that could undermine the stability, peace and growth of democracy in their respective countries.
The Executive Director of Parliamentary Network Africa, Samuel Obeng said that parliament as an institution that mirrors a country’s democracy should remain open and transparent.
According to him, the legislature should also be responsive to the needs of the citizens and be seen in encouraging citizens’ participation in their line of work.
“This requires that performance of parliament as an institution is subjected to assessments by citizens-based groups such as PMO’s. The actions and inactions of parliament during the COVID-19 pandemic must be brought under the microscope” he said.
The Director of Research, CDD-Ghana, Dr Edem Selormey, mentioned challenges such as the absence of protocols for established engagement between CSOs and parliament as well as mistrust as barriers to collaboration between the two entities.
The conference, she said, therefore offered a platform for stakeholders to work together to deepen relationship, improve the quality of parliamentary practice and deepen democratic ideals.
By Issah Mohammed