Features
Burning Issues: MPs, respect Speaker
Not long ago we heard of some misunderstanding between members of the leadership of Parliament. The Speaker, it is clear, is not happy with the 1st Deputy Speaker while the 1st Deputy Speaker is also unhappy with the Speaker.
What came as a shock to many people was the shout of “Shut up!” to a member of Parliament when the Speaker wanted his MPs to be punctual and conduct themselves in a dignified manner.
DIGNITY AND PARLIAMENTARY DUTIES
Dignity is very important when it comes to parliamentary duties. In fact, members of parliament including the Speaker are expected to express themselves in a dignifying manner so as to serve as good examples for the rest of society.
It is in the light of this that the recent pronouncement of “Shut up” came as a surprise to many of us. It is our wish that such a thing will never happen again in parliament.
SHOW OF RESPECT
Members of parliament are not children but people who know their left from their right. This is why the general public is expected to show special respect to all parliamentarians and recognise them as leaders who must be placed high in society. Also, the title “Honourable” is used to show the dignifying role they play in society. All these go to show that they are people who deserve our respect from all angles. The respect should not only come from the public but from among members of parliament themselves.
If members of parliament, therefore, will not respect their own selves, then why should they expect members of the public to respect they themselves. In other words, members of the public are not likely to show respect to the parliamentarians if the parliamentarians themselves cannot show respect to one another.
UNFAIR ATTACKS TO SPEAKER
During the time of Rt Hon Speaker, Prof Mike Oquaye, some of the MPs from the minority attacked him unfairly claiming that he was treating them like children. This unfortunate situation prevailed for some time until Prof Mike Oquaye was replaced by Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin. For Alban Bagbin to shout “Shut up” in parliament shows that he was treating parliamentarians as kindergarten school children, a situation which to some of us, is very unfortunate.
This is not to say that respect for parliamentarians is expected to come from only the Speaker. Rather, the respect must be reciprocal. While the speaker is expected to respect parliamentarians who work under him, all the MPs must be seen as people who also respect the Speaker. If the MPs will not respect the Speaker and his deputies, then they are calling for nothing but disorderliness in parliament and thereby setting very bad example for the rest of the people in the country.
IMPORTANT SEGMENT
The Speaker represents an important segment of our population and should, therefore, be accorded the respect he requires. Anyone who does not show respect to the Speaker is seen as committing an abominable act which must not be permitted by anyone in the country.
We need to set good examples for ourselves. For this to come about, we need to put up good behaviour at all times and exhibit exemplary lives to all people we come in contact with, including our places of work.
If such respect is not exhibited to the leaders in parliament for example, then we have no right to demand respect from other members of society.
NO DICTATORSHIP
Thus, the simple rule is that the Speaker must show himself as a parliamentary leader who must respect all the people he works with. He should never behave as a dictator or an autocratic person who thinks that the power he wields is equal to that of the almighty God.
In the same way, all members of parliament must show special respect to the Speaker and accord him the reverence he needs at all times. If the respect comes from both ways, that is from the leadership of parliament to the other parliamentarians while the other parliamentarians also show special respect to the leadership of parliament, there will be peace and dignity in the legislature and this good behaviour will transcend to all facets of society including children.
In conclusion, therefore, we want to emphasise and state that the Speaker and his deputies must respect the rest of the MPs, while the rest of the MPs should also respect the leadership of parliament. This is how the legislature should behave as a House of dignity for the entire country.
What this means is that the Speaker must respect the MPs while the MPs also respect the Speaker.
Contact email/whatsApp of author:
Pradmat2013@gmail.com (0553318911)
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Attention-Deficit or Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is often mistaken for laziness or indiscipline. In consulting rooms across Accra and in reports from school teachers, the pattern repeats: children who are bright but forgetful, parents who feel helpless, teachers who see incompleteness.
Research is clear-Barkley (2015) and others describe ADHD as a difference in the brain’s regulation of alertness, impulse and working memory, not a lack of effort.
The family’s role begins with structure. Regular sleep, predictable meal and homework times, and a simple visual list (uniform → books → water → corridor) provide the external scaffolding of these children need. Praise what is completed—“You opened the book and wrote the first sentence”-instead of rebuking what is missing.
Schools can help by seating the child front-row and centre, giving short written plus verbal instructions, allowing brief movement breaks, using quiet nonverbal cues and, where possible, grading effort and method as well as neatness. These adjustments reduce conflict and raise submission rates without lowering standards.
Couples and caregivers should share roles: one grounds, one pivots, and both protect rest. Shame-“bad parenting, bad child”-needs replacing with fact: different wiring, needs scaffolding.
Outcomes improve not by promises of perfection but by daily routines, clear limits and warmed connection. One homework slot kept, one instruction chunked, one calm repair after blurting-these small wins shift the family climate and let the child be seen beyond the label.
Resource
• CPAC (award-winning Mental Health and Counselling Facility): 0559850604 / 0551428486
Source: REV. COUNSELLOR PRINCE OFFEI’s insights on special needs support, relationships, and mental health in Ghana. He is a leading mental health professional, lecturer, ADR Expert/Arbitrator, renowned author, and marriage counsellor at COUNSELLOR PRINCE & ASSOCIATES CONSULT (CPAC COUNSELLOR TRAINING INSTITUTE) – 0551428486 /0559850604.
WEBSITES:
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/author
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/website
After two weeks of hectic activity up north, I drove to the Tamale airport, parked the car at the Civil Aviation car park as usual, paid the usual parking fee and boarded the plane for Accra.
Over the last two weeks, I had shuffled between three sites where work was close to completion.
One was a seed warehouse, where farmers would come and pick up good quality maize, sorghum and other planting material.
The other was a health facility for new mothers, where they were given basic training on good nutrition and small scale business.
And the third was a set of big boreholes for three farming communities.
The projects usually ran on schedule, but a good deal of time was spent building rapport with the local people, to ensure that they would be well patronised and maintained.
It was great to be working in a situation where one’s work was well appreciated. But it certainly involved a lot of work, and proactivity. And I made sure that I recorded updates online before going to bed in the evening.
When the plane took off, my mind shifted to issues in Accra, the big city. The young guys at my office had done some good work. They had secured five or six houses on a row in a good part of the city, and were close to securing the last.
When we got this property, unusually, Abena greeted them casually, and appeared to be comfortable in the guy’s company.
I was quite disappointed to hear that, because until the last few weeks, it seemed as if Abena and I were heading in a good direction. Apart from the affection I had for her, I liked her family. I decided to take it easy, and allow things to fall in whatever direction.
Normally I would take a taxi to her house from the airport, and pick her up to my place. This time I went to my sisters’ joint, where they sat by me while I enjoyed a drink and a good meal.
“So Little Brother,” Sister Beesiwa said, “what is it we are hearing about our wife-to-be?”
“When did you conclude that she was your wife-to-be? And what have you heard? I’ve only heard a couple of whispers. Ebo and Nana Kwame called to say that they have seen her in the company of—”
“Well said Little Brother,” Sister Baaba said. “By the way, Nana Kwame called an hour ago to ask if you had arrived because he could not reach you. Someone had told him that Jennifer had boasted to someone that she had connected Abena to a wealthy guy who would take care of her.”
I was beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.
“In that case,” Sister Beesiwa said, “you should be glad that Abena is out of your way. She is easily swayed. Anyone who would make a relationship decision based on a friend’s instigation lacks good sense. I hope the guy is as wealthy as they say?”
“Who gets wealthy running a supermarket chain in Ghana?” Sister Baaba said. “Our supermarkets sell mostly imported products. Look at the foreign exchange rate. And remember that Ghanaians buy second-hand shoes and clothes. Supermarkets are not good business here. Perhaps they are showing off that they are wealthy, but in reality they are not doing so well.”
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.”
She said that David Forson was only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her. And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. We would be able to sell all five houses to one big corporate customer, and we had already spoken to a property dealer who was trying to find a buyer in order to get a good commission.
That was going to be my biggest break. I had asked the boys to look for a large tract of land on the outskirts of the city where we could develop our own set of buildings, blocks of storey houses and upscale apartments. Things were going according to plan, and I was quietly excited. However, things were not going so well regarding my relationship with Abena.
My buddies Ebo and Nana Kwame had called to say that they met Abena and her friend Jennifer enjoying lunch with a guy, and Ebo believed that Jennifer was ‘promoting’ an affair between Jennifer and the guy. They were of the view that the promotion seemed to be going in the guy’s favour, because only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her.
And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“As I’ve already said, I will stop by her place, but I will mind my own business from now. Hey, let’s talk family. How are our parents? And my brothers-in-law? And my nephews and nieces? Why don’t we meet on Sunday? I’m going to drop my bags at my place, and go to see Mama and Dad.”
