The Majority Leader in Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has bemoaned the lack of quality debates in Parliament.
According to the Leader, debates in the House have taken a nosedive and members should conduct a serious introspection and worry about the future of the nation.
He said research conducted shows that the 1997-2001 Parliament of the Fourth Republic stands out as the best, followed by 2001 -2004 Parliament.
“Indications are that the quality of debate in this house has gone down. It has taken a nosedive and we should do a serious introspection and question where we are going as a nation.”
Mr Kyei-Mensah made these lamentations while commenting on a statement read by Mr Frank Annor Dompreh, Member of Parliament (MP) for Nsawam Adoagyir, on the celebration of World Parliament Day, which took place on Tuesday, June 30.
Mr Kyei-Mensah said the House needs to build a block of research to enrich the quality of debates.
He explained that Parliament is required to deliberate on matters to inform the people of this country, hence, deliberations should be informed by research, but that was not the happening in the House.
He said Parliament also has the onerous responsibility to transmitting relevant information to the public, because, at the end of the term of every Parliament, elections are held and decisions would have been made by the populace, based on relevant information or debates in the house.
For this reason, people should not just get up in the House and talk from the top of their heads. Every contribution made by an MP should be based on facts and figures, the Leader charged.
Again, Mr Kyei-Mensah intimated that a lot of members in the House are not interested in the business of law making.
He said that the first and most important function of Parliament is the business of legislation, which is why Parliament is referred to as the Legislative Arm of Government.
“Unfortunately, Mr Speaker, as you know, in this House when it comes to the business of law making in this House not too many MPs are interested. Not too many submit themselves to the business of law making.
“The other day, I said same to some people who came to interview that hardly do you see more than 20 people being really interested in participating in the business of lawmaking. Some of my colleagues said why did I say that, but, Mr Speaker, the cameras are here and they bear testimony to the fact that when it comes to the business of law making, not too many people are interested.”
Another role the Leader accused the House of not playing well is the financial control function.
The Leader said Parliament has a financial control function, which it exercises through the approval of loan agreements and scrutinizing of government budgets, as well as approving allocations made to various government sectors, including ministries, departments and agencies (MMDAs) for the execution government programmes. “That’s why Parliament everywhere is the gatekeeper of the national purse,” he added.
Mr Kyei-Mensah observed that when Parliament has allocated monies to the various institutions, it has to go behind and see if the monies are being used for the purposes for which they were requested, and ensure that the country is not being short changed.
He said the committee was not living up to their expectation and must sit up.
The post Parliament short of quality debates -Majority Leader appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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