Mahama Ayariga
Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, has disclosed that the government intends to rename Kotoka International Airport as Accra International Airport, a move he says is aimed at aligning national institutions with Ghana’s democratic values and identity.
Mr. Ayariga made the disclosure during a meeting between the leadership of Parliament and the Press Corps yesterday, ahead of the first meeting of the Second Session of the Ninth Parliament.
He explained that the proposed change would be backed by legislation, pointing out that the Minister for Transport had given him an indication that the bill for the name change was read for presentation to Parliament.
“We are changing the name of our airport from Kotoka International Airport to Accra International Airport. A bill will be brought by the Minister for Transport for the name to be changed,” he said.
The Majority Leader acknowledged that the proposal is likely to spark public debate, given the historical significance of the airport’s current name, and emphasised that Parliament would play a central role once the matter is formally introduced.
Beyond the renaming proposal, Mr. Ayariga used the meeting to educate the public on parliamentary structure and outline the legislative agenda for the new session.
He explained that Parliament operates in four-year life cycles, with each Parliament divided into four annual sessions, and each session further broken into meetings.
According to him, the Ninth Parliament completed its First Session in December and has now entered its Second Session, with the current sitting marking the first meeting of that session.
He announced that a major highlight of the meeting will be the President’s State of the Nation Address, a constitutional obligation, similar to how the national budget dominated the previous meeting of the First Session.
Mr. Ayariga said Parliament will also prioritise the passage of bills that could not be concluded earlier due to time constraints, alongside new bills from various ministries.
He revealed that there are about 300 outstanding parliamentary questions and nearly 300 committee reports pending, assuring that steps are being taken to clear the backlog.
The Majority Leader further indicated that Parliament intends to strengthen oversight by rigorously scrutinising not only financial accountability reports but also performance reports from public institutions, insisting that agencies must account for actual service delivery outcomes.
Among key bills and policy documents expected during the session are amendments to the Ghana Cocoa Board Act, security sector reforms, legal education reforms, energy sector legislation, mining sector overhaul, local governance reforms, and regulations in areas such as health, environment, and chieftaincy.
Mr. Ayariga said the session will be a defining one, with Parliament determined to assert its constitutional role in lawmaking, oversight, and accountability on behalf of Ghanaians.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House