Commentary

Council of State’s inter party engagement in Parliament and happenings

By Dr Nana Sifa Twum, Media and Communications Consultant

The Council of State has initiated a move to help address the continued misunderstanding and confusion that have bedevilled the Ghanaian Parliament for some time now.

Series of meetings with caucuses, especially the leadership of the House are still ongoing to find lasting solutions to the impasse that has virtually affected the work of the nation’s House of Legislation.

The move by the Council, the first of such formal encounters between the Council and the Parliament, since the return to democratic rule, is at the instance of the Council to allow for the discussion of issues of uncompromising and lack of consensus-building within the rank and file of members of Parliament.

Led by its Chairman, Nana Otuo Siriboe II, the Council of State this is to allow the Council and the leadership of Parliament to engage in open and frank deliberations on several issues to help build consensus, address recent developments in parliamentary affairs and improve Ghana’s democracy

As per its mandate, the Council of State advises the President on national issues, and this perhaps is a medium of gathering information to equip themselves to be well informed in respect to the unfortunate occurrences at the Parliament House to better provide the needed advice to the President to halt the rather disgraceful situation among those we describe as honourable.

Due primarily to individual opinions and ideologies, Parliaments around the globe normally have divergent views on matters affecting the countries and constituents. The British Parliament, for instance, has always been a boisterous debating Chamber. What most people see as Prime Minister’s Questions Time, is described as similar to a verbal boxing match.

In Ghana, the disagreements on national matters have of late turned woefully into acrimonies and antagonism. In some cases, members of the Ghanaian Parliament have to resort to blows in the chamber in their quest for solutions to parliamentary matters.

The 8th Parliament of Ghana, to many a Ghanaian, appears to be the worst in terms of harmony and cooperation in Parliamentary duties. This situation has arisen chiefly due to the fact that for the first time in history, Ghana has a hung Parliament with 137 Members of Parliament (MP) for both the ruling NPP and the opposition NDC and one Independent MP, who identifies with the former.

This is coupled with the new situation, where a speaker is selected from outside the ruling party. One would expect nothing but members seeking their own political and party interests. Undoubtedly, this has thwarted the smooth operations of the House. The future of the current Parliament of Ghana is certainly uncertain. Petty issues such as the rescheduling of the date for an adjournment even become a quarrelsome matter.

The Parliament House of Ghana is increasingly becoming an uncompromising spot rather than where development is blessed for the sake of the people. it is therefore becoming extremely difficult to predict what will happen next. In the words of, the Council of State, Nana Otuo Siriboe II, “parliament is an awesome institution but ours has been awful”.

The election of the Speaker alone brought its attendant difficulties and shame to the members and the entire nation. There was a total breakdown of law and order while one member and a Minister of State snatched ballot papers, so shameful.

Simple voting on the proposed Electronic Transaction Levy (commonly known as Electronic Levy or E-levy) is a tax applied on transactions made on electronic or digital platforms into law has taken the so-called august house almost four months and yet its fruition is uncertain.

This is a situation that is seriously hampering the running of the country as the national revenue base is badly affected according to government officials. To ensure the smooth running of Parliament as an extremely important arm of government as well as ensuring peace and unity among individual members and political parties involved, there is the urgent need for such intervention from the Council of State.

This wise and swift approach by the prominent, elderly and respected citizens, must be highly commended. Their ability to bring the tango in our parliament to a halt would not only provide sanity in our body politics but would also greatly pave the way for an effective parliamentary system that is rather development-oriented.

Our MPs must learn to develop and promote a culture of respect, fairness, and dignity (which they also deserve) and extend them to other citizens of the land. For it is said, “Respect for ourselves guides our morals, respect for others guides our manners.”

Consensus building is key in every democratic dispensation. This is almost always characterised by a decision-making structure that involves and takes into account as broad a range of opinions as possible, as opposed to systems where minority opinions can potentially be ignored by vote-winning majorities.

Our MPs must try to provide a safe, secure and welcoming environment for all who work with them. It is likely some individuals may not like everyone and what they bring on board but they are mandated to accommodate, unite, promote, respect, and promote fairness and dignity within the August House.