‘We’ve harmonised ties between Parliament, Executive’

The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has said the ministry has worked to harmonise the relationship between Parliament and the Executive.

He said it was important that the perception of Executive dominance over Parliament was demystified.

Taking his turn at the meet-the-press series in Accra yesterday, the minister said his outfit would promote general consensus around fundamental issues of national development.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the ministry was positioned to support Ghana’s democratic transformation by working to deepen democratic governance.

It was also poised to help enhance political and administrative decentralisation through the harmonisation of the relationship between Members of Parliament (MPs) and metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs), he said.

He said the ministry would encourage the participation of civil society organisations in shaping public policies “in order to secure for ourselves and posterity the blessings of liberty and equality of opportunity and prosperity, as captured in the Preamble of the 1992 Constitution”.

 Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu (left) in a chat with some officials from the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah Adjei (2nd right), a Deputy Minister of Information. 

Achievements

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the ministry had organised leadership, good governance and conflict management workshops for MPs and MMDCEs throughout the country.

He said it was also collaborating with the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to intensify public education on the work of MPs and MMDCEs.

He said it had also partnered the Parliamentary Training Institute and the Parliamentary Network Africa to organise a training programme for media practitioners to educate them on the role of the ministry and also strengthen its relationship with the media.

He said subsequent meetings had given the opportunity to the media to interrogate the workings of Parliament since 1993 and also question the leadership of Parliament on critical issues.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu added that the ministry also had a dialogue session with senior media practitioners on the menace of political vigilantism in the country and how to curb the menace.