By Godfred Zina.
Ghanaians would appreciate the work of Parliamentarians if cameras were extended to the Committee levels, according to Governance Expert, Lawyer and Chartered Accountant who serves as the Director General of the Internal Audit Agency of Ghana, Dr. Eric Oduro Osae.
The Director of the Internal Audit Agency stated on the 97th series of the new #gtvbreakfast with Host Kafui Dey on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, that most Ghanaians judge the performances of Members of Parliament to be vocal on the floor of Parliament.
“Constituents judge the performance of MP for talking on the floor of Parliament, we even say but this person hasn’t talked in Parliament before, but you know? Some of them do work at the Committee levels. When you go to the Committee level, the input, the critique and the analysis,” he said.
When the Host asked if Committee Level Meetings should be recorded on camera, Dr. Oduro Osae agreed.
“Well, I think so, to extend the camera to the Committee Levels so that at least Ghanaians would see the thorough work MPs do at the Committee Level, Ghanaians will appreciate the work of MPs I tell you,” he opined.
Dr. Eric Oduro Osae described his experience working with a Parliamentary Committee to convert an Agency Bill into a Service Bill.
“I appeared before them [Committee] and this our Bill to convert the Agency into a Service, it became an issue, for a moment most of them were in agreement to the extent that the Ranking Member of Finance said that if by February government hasn’t introduce it, he will introduce a Private Member Bill to make sure that our law is passed.”
According to him, the dedication of Members of Parliament in the Committees shows that they are working.
“You see this tells me that they are doing some good work there. So, extending cameras to the Committee level so that Constitutes will know that the work of Parliament is not only on the floor of Parliament . They do a lot more, yesterday as at 10 PM they were sitting to construct the estimate in Committee. These are things people do not know, so I think they should take the cameras to the Committee Level so people will know what they do.”
Dr. Oduro Osae went on to explain why some MPs, particularly newcomers, are never heard in Parliament.
According to him, there are Parliamentary practices that force newcomers to sit in the back row.
“Kafui, you see when you look at the rules of Parliamentary Practices, if you are a first timer, you are a Back Bencher. It means that you will never have the opportunity of occupying the front seat not even the middle.”
“If you are a first timer your questions are edited and audited by your leadership before it is admitted, so it is a tall order for first timers to even be heard.”
The first timer does a lot of work at the Committee Level and that is why I will strongly join the group advocating Camera’s to be sent to the Committee Level.
Meanwhile, Dean of the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA), Professor John Kwaku Mensah Mawutor who was also on the GTV Breakfast Show, stated that no Member of Parliament is ineffective.
According to him, the battle of Party ideologies is usually displayed on the Floor of Parliament.
“As we all know, when it gets to the Floor of Parliament, it is mostly the battle of ideology and I think that is what Otumfuor is talking about. In deed we have all observed some level of politicking ……where some thus both Minority and Minority are taking some stance or won’t compromise at all, and that is not what you need for a hang Parliament. Look, no matter how we describe it, it is a hang Parliament. If you really want to vote on this Budget, it would be a little difficult to pass. So, in this I share the same sentiment with my Senior here. It is good that Otumfuor added his voice.”
