Parliamentary Chamber undergoing major €2.26 million [euros] renovation

The leadership of Parliament will have to look for a temporary venue to host the 275 members of Parliament when the House reconvenes on September 3, 2024.

This is because the main chamber of Parliament is undergoing a major renovation.

The Majority recently requested for a recall of the House to deal with pertinent government business which constitutionally mandates the Speaker to heed to the call.

But following the refurbishment of the chamber, the Speaker is expected to meet with the leadership to decide on a venue while hoping that the chamber will be ready by October for the third meeting.

"I can decide to host them under a tree or even take them to Ho or elsewhere," the Speaker said jokingly when he inspected the progress of work within the chamber on Friday [August 23, 2024].

Arrangements 

The seats and equipment in the chamber have all been removed to allow for an upgrade of the conference system.

And in doing so, the old cables which have been in existence since 2014 are being changed.

"The average lifespan of such cables is between 10 and 15 years," the Acting Director of ICT in Parliament, Lesley Addico, who took the Speaker round on Friday said.

The underlying cables are all being changed to introduce a biometric feature that will allow MPs to register their attendance electronically.

The new system, which is said to be the first within the sub-region, would enable electronic voting using the biometric system.

The old system, which is a tabletop, will give way to a new one fitted within the table with a 15-inch screen like a laptop.

It comes with a microphone and a touch screen to allow MPs to have access to votes and proceedings, order papers, committee reports and all parliamentary documents.

Under the new system, Table Office and other officers of Parliament will be allowed to upload all reports onto the system.

As part of the new features, broadcasting quality cameras are to be installed with cables to the control room into the video production system where journalists could pick their feeds.

Project

The 2.26 million Euro is being undertaken by African Bagg Limited, an indigenous Ghanaian firm.

The company is expected to get the place ready before the end of October for the third meeting to commence.

Speaker

Addressing the media, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin said since November 2014, the House had been trying to update its system to cope with the work demands.

Subsequently, the project was commissioned under one of the former Speakers, Edward Doe Ajaho, and was reviewed in 2020 during the era of former Speaker, Mike Oquaye.

Sequel to that, the Parliamentary Service Board accepted the proposals and invited bids which were eventually won by African Bagg Limited.

The Speaker was optimistic that the E-system would promote a paperless parliament, promote speed, and accuracy and make the next parliament s work better.