The Parliament of Ghana is celebrating 30 years of parliamentary democracy. As the House of Legislature take stock of 30 years of parliamentary democracy in Ghana, The Chronicle is glad about how parliament has now moved to the doorstep of the people, where they can take questions from the very people who they represent.
As the Speaker of parliament leads Parliament to Takoradi with his entourage to bring their legislative activities close to the people, his other two deputies are in the Eastern and Northern regions to engage the electorate on the same subject.
Thirty years ago, Ghana chose the path of parliamentary democracy with the inception of the Fourth Republican Parliament of Ghana, after eleven years of military rule and the promulgation of the 1992 Constitution that was approved by the Ghanaian citizenry in a referendum.
The first parliament of the Fourth Republic had 200 members and was inaugurated on 7th January 1993. The political parties represented were the National Democratic Congress, National Convention Party, Eagle Party and two Independents.
The second parliament was inaugurated on January 7 1997. Unlike the first parliament, the main opposition, the New Patriotic Party made a return to the House, joining the National Democratic Congress, Peoples National Convention and Convention Peoples Party.
Over the years, Parliament has evolved and the number of parliamentary seats increased to two hundred and thirty (230) in January, 2005 and further expanded to two hundred and seventy-five (275) since January, 2013.
From the above, it is obvious Ghana has travelled the path of a tortuous parliamentary democratic journey for a period of 30 years till today. As a result Parliament is entitled to celebrate the day because of its contribution to the growth of Ghana’s stable democracy.
According to parliament.gh, since the inception of the Fourth Republic, Parliament has passed over one thousand (1000) Bills including the Right to Information Act, the National Identification Authority Act, the Interpretation Act, the Electoral Commission Act, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice Act, the Audit Service Act and the Presidential Transitional Act.
Parliament also repealed other legislations such as the Criminal Libel law, and is working assiduously to enact other Bills to regulate the conduct of public business and promote good governance.
Hitherto, it was the executive that would have sponsored or would have come to the House for a bill to pass into law. The repeal of the death penalty, passing of the Promotion of Appropriate Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill amongst others were all sponsored by private members and did not come from the executive. This certainly tells a story that Parliament has come of age.
We must put our shoulders to the wheel by strengthening and enhancing the effectiveness of parliament through institutional development, building the capacity of parliamentary staff, MPs and committees. Parliaments are one of the key institutions of democracy, playing an important role in terms of legislation, oversight and representation.
As a result, they must reduce operating along partisan and entrenched lines which affect the people who voted for them. A clear example was the passage of the E-Levy Act. It is time Ghana’s Parliament move away from partisan stand and work in the interest of the people.
On this auspicious occasion, The Chronicle wishes to say ‘Ayekoo’ to Parliament after thirty years of uninterrupted parliamentary democracy, which is a milestone and worthy of celebrating.
