New Standing Orders will improve parliamentary democracy — Bagbin

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban S. K. Bagbin, has stated that the January 2024 Standing Orders offer an opportunity to address the evolving needs of Ghana’s dynamic and hybrid parliamentary democracy.

He said time and practice had exposed the gaps and deficiencies in the 2000 Standing Orders, stressing that “our processes and procedures in the House are challenged.”

He said the present composition of the House had brought those gaps and deficiencies into sharper focus. 

Workshop

Speaking at an orientation workshop for the first batch of Members of Parliament on the new Standing Orders in Ho last Saturday, Mr Bagbin said the new Standing Orders of Parliament, which came into effect in January 2024, formed part of processes to shape the future of Parliament and the country’s democracy.

“We must start aligning the conduct of business in the House with the evolving and changing trends and requirements of our Parliament.

Mr Bagbin said MPS needed to know how to apply and cope with the January 2024 Standing Orders which have replaced the 2000 Orders, pointing out that the workshop would help MPs deal with the issues that had come to the fore since the country was presented with a hung Parliament.

He said the MPs needed to commit themselves to the training as doing so would guarantee that they were “equipped with the knowledge, skills and expertise required to carry out our duties with the highest level of competence and professionalism.”

Diligence

He said it was incumbent upon the MPs to approach their work with diligence and innovation, given that Parliament was confronted with “an increasing level of public distrust, which we must tackle through our approach to work.”

“We have a unique opportunity to address the distrust of MPs and restore public confidence in the institution of Parliament.

To achieve this, we must acknowledge and rectify previous missteps and prioritise collaboration, irrespective of our differences,” he said.

That, he said, would promote the welfare and advancement of all Ghanaians and the country as a whole.

On his part, the Clerk to Parliament, Cyril Kwabena Oteng Nsiah said the hung nature of the Eighth Parliament, which is the first of its kind since the inception of the Fourth Republic, presented several novel situations and challenges that were not provided for under the Standing Orders of November, 2000.

He said under the current Standing Orders, the number of parliamentary Committees had increased from 31 to 44 to emphasise the new focus and direction of the House as part of efforts to expand and improve parliamentary oversight of activities of state actors.