Friday, December 16, 2021, would go down in history of Ghana’s Parliament.  It was the day when the honourable Speaker of Parliament, Rt-Hon Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, for some obvious reasons, decided to turn the Chamber into a complete lecture hall to enlighten members of parliament made up of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) caucuses about the rules and regulations as well as the laws and the Standing Orders of Parliament.

SPEAKER’S APOLOGY TO GHANAIANS

Incensed by the controversies and brouhaha that transpired in parliament during his absence to seek medical attention in Dubai in the latter part of last year, Speaker Bagbin did not mince words when he apologised to Ghanaians and subsequently condemned members of parliament for the nasty incidents recorded in the House and also for flagrantly flouting and undermining the laws of parliament as well as the Standing Orders that regulate their operations in the Chamber.

LECTURING THE PARLIAMENTARIANS

Behaving like a professor and lecturer addressing his students, the Speaker took his time to dissect the laws of parliament as crafted in the 1992 Constitution, how they regulate and affect the operations and activities in the house, the roles of the substantive Speaker and his two Deputies in the absence of the Speaker as well as actions and setbacks that infringe procedures and processes in the House.  It was so interesting and delightful to watch on our television screens as the entire members of parliament kept their silence with attentive ears to listen to the wise counsel by the Number One Gentleman in our August parliament.

The Speaker drew an inference on governance by using himself as an example of the President of Ghana who had sought permission to travel outside the country on official assignment.  In his absence, the Vice President, the Number Two Gentleman of the land who stepped in as the caretaker president used his powers to reverse certain decisions that had been taken by the president.  He asked whether that would not automatically undermine the authority of the president as stipulated by the law and create a constitutional crisis in the country, thereby affecting governance?

CONTROVERSIES OVER THE PASSAGE OF THE 2022 BUDGET

Apparently, Speaker Bagbin was making reference to the recent brouhaha in parliament over his earlier decision concerning the rejection of the 2022 Budget and the subsequent decision by the Second Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei Owusu, Member of Parliament for Bekwai Constituency who sat in the Speaker’s chair during his absence to reverse the rejection decision by the Speaker with what could be described as controversial due processes and procedures and to allow the Majority to approve that same budget, even though the Minority had earlier raised certain objections in the document.  That was the genesis of the controversies that sparked off in parliament.

This is not the time to go forward and back about the controversies surrounding the rejection and subsequent approval of the budget because the matter has been largely dealt with.

The Speaker made it clear that having taken his time to read the Order Paper, votes and proceedings and the official reports of the days on the issue, he felt convinced that members should accept the view of conscience of the nation that they owed Ghanaians an apology and he had proceeded to do just that assignment.

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR MPs ABERRATIONS

He said as Head of Parliament, the voice of the Legislature, who speaks for and on behalf of Parliament, hence the title Speaker, he had with all humility apologised on behalf of the House and members for the aberrations of conduct and behaviour of members on those days.  According to him he had taken responsibility for what happened in the House and admitted that the House was neither dignified nor exalted by those unruly behaviour of members.  He promised to do everything within his power and authority to lead the House to chart a path of transformation, decency and change for the better.  He proceeded to state that the conduct of members on those days touched on the legality of decisions arrived at in the House and how they arrived at those decisions.  That, he said, would help members to look at those issues dispassionately, in humility, devoid of egos and partisanship.

ALLOWING 1992 CONSTITUTION TO REFLECT MPs OPERATIONS

He then advised the MPs to allow the 1992 Constitution, the enabling laws, precedents and Standing Orders of the House to lead the way and urged them to think about how to strengthen the work of parliament and by extension Ghana’s democratic governance.  He admonished them to bear in mind that as MPs, they also represented the people-the citizenry-not just political parties.  He described what happened in the chamber as grave disorder with its resultant comedy of errors and warned that he would not take lightly a repeat of such disorder and indiscipline in the House.

Indeed, the Speaker has done what is just and right by apologising to the people of Ghana under whose ticket our MPs rode on to where they are now, for the nasty incident that transpired within parliament during his few days of absence in the country and we need to applaud him for that sterling quality and initiative.  He has, indeed, proved that he merited the position he is occupying at the moment and Ghanaians appreciated him for the gesture.

INERTIA CREEPING INTO MPs FOLD

It appears that our parliamentarians are filled with some amount of inertia judging from the way they easily forget some of the laws crafted in the 1992 Constitution and their own Standing Orders regarding their operations in the House.  That could either be deliberate or they are just doing that to frustrate and circumvent the laws for their selfish agenda and that is most unfortunate.

This particular shortfall in their operations brings to the fore as to whether there has been continuous refresher courses and training programmes to upgrade themselves in parliamentary processes and procedures.  The way the leaders of both sides of the House misinterpreted and misrepresented the laws during the last few weeks in the debate and the passage of the 2022 budget, raises doubt about how they are abreast of issues regarding the operations in parliament.

It is the view of many Ghanaians that as law makers, our MPs need to be conversant with what pertains in the law so that they can easily interpret them with ease without any shred of doubt.  That is why Ghanaians applaud the Speaker for the initiative and also setting the tone for more education and update to our parliamentarians to be in tune with the changing trends.  More of such briefings are needed periodically to sharpen their skills and intellect on parliamentary processes.

MATURITY IS NEEDED IN MPs WORK

It is important to drum home to our MPs that parliament and for that matter our democracy has come of age, and therefore, our MPs who have been selected through the mandate of the people to lead us must behave responsibly and demonstrate resilience, fortitude and forthrightness as they go about their avowed duties in the August House.  They must begin to strengthen their channels of communication and interaction, foster dialogue and consensus building, encourage broader stakeholder consultation and allow the process they have adopted to our young democracy to thrive.

AVOIDANCE OF THE UNNECESSARY CONFRONTATIONS

These unnecessary confrontations, confusion, attacks on one another and chaos within parliament must give way to constructive criticisms to promote peace and development in our dear nation.  We salute the Speaker for the profound speech and we hope that the MPs will return from their recess fully refreshed to consider issues raised in the Speaker’s address and apply them for their own good.

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By Charles Neequaye