Features
Tension in Parliament unnecessary
The legislative arm of government forms an important part of government and aims to play a crucial role in the socioeconomic development of a country. This role is undertaken to ensure that issues relating to law and order are carried out in a manner that seeks to bring about peace and orderliness in all parts of the country.
A major function of the legislative arm of government is deliberation over matters that are of public interest for the good of the nation. This function allows members of parliament to freely discuss issues arising in any part of the state to ensure orderliness for the overall good of the citizenry.
Another major function is lawmaking. Without the appropriate laws, no activity can be properly regulated for the purpose of ensuring decency and the achievement of good results. This is why all the laws of the state are deliberated upon when introduced to ensure that only good laws are passed for the betterment of the country.
All Members of Parliament have been given the power to freely discuss their views when certain issues come up. By allowing free ventilation of views, the MPs are encouraged to touch on every issue of importance. This also explains why all MPs enjoy legislative immunity.
The immunity is meant to protect them from attacks from the public. This protection is important, and this explains why anything said on the floor of Parliament cannot be used against any of the MPs. However, any adverse comment should be made in the House of Parliament, not outside it.
What this means is that if an MP makes adverse remarks about someone at the Accra Sports Stadium or Babayara Sports Stadium in a manner that is unfair to anybody, the person concerned can pick up the matter and sue the MP who made the unfair remark about him or her. The MPs are very aware of this, so they are always measured in the comments they make outside Parliament.
Not long ago, the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin, had cause to advise all MPs to be careful about comments they make outside Parliament. The Speaker explained, and he was right in doing that, referring to the issue of immunity for parliamentarians. It is hoped that our MPs will take this advice seriously and refrain from defamation or character assassination outside Parliament. We thank the Speaker for this good advice.
In light of the role of Parliament, it can be seen that the MPs are playing a good role in the development of the country. In fact, nothing can move smoothly without their input.
One problem that is of major concern to the public, however, is the needless tension that occasionally characterises deliberations in Parliament. The MPs engage in acrimonious deliberations with one another in a manner that suggests that the world will come to an end in the next five minutes. Attacks on each other may be said to be part of their parliamentary style, but this is still unacceptable, seeing that a noble place like Parliament serves as a good training ground for morality for viewers and listeners of parliamentary proceedings.
Sometimes the real motive for this can be seen as political, where one group of people may want to score political points over members of the opposing side. Such moves are not good and must be avoided at all times.
MPs from all parts of the country are all brothers and sisters who must acknowledge and respect one another as children of God. If this principle is followed by all the MPs, disagreements will arise, but they will be devoid of needless tensions that are destructive to social and political development.
Not long ago, the Minority in Parliament, for example, received instructions from their party leadership not to approve nominations of Ministers brought to them by the President of the Republic. The purpose of this action and directive was said to be that the size of government had been bloated.
This assertion cannot be true because the current number of Ministers is smaller compared with previously, as was experienced under the previous government before the coming into power of President Akufo-Addo.
The deliberations in parliament were delayed and went deep into the night of March 24, 2023. For some of us, this could have been avoided without any tension in Parliament.
At the end of it all, after a hectic session, the Ministers were approved together with the Justices of the Supreme Court.
It became clear that some NDC MPs voted to approve the Ministers whose names were submitted to Parliament. There is a range of 21 to 31 MPs on the Minority side who voted to approve the Ministers.
This has brought about high tensions in the NDC, and some of them have called those MPs traitors. There is a young man who wants to stand as MP in the Bibiani-Ahwiaso-Bekwai Constituency in the Western North Region, and this young man openly attacked his own MPs, claiming that they would fish them out and sack them from the party. If this is what this prospective MP has in mind, then he should know that he cannot succeed in his own party. People are free to make their own choices, even if they belong to political parties that expect them to behave in a certain way. However, attacking and insulting MPs as if they do not have minds of their own is not good and should not be entertained.
On March 24, 2023, the Speaker of Parliament was put in a fix. He tried to play fair to both the Majority and Minority sides. On that occasion, it became clear that the work of the Speaker is not an easy venture to undertake, for which reason we need to pray for him at all times. While praying for him, all the Members of Parliament, together with their party officials, should also take practical steps to promote unity, peace, and tolerance, as well as peaceful co-existence with all political factions in Parliament, so that peace will prevail in Ghana.
The issue of bribery raised by some NDC members against their own Members of Parliament should be dropped because it will only escalate tension within the party. If this advice is accommodated in a peaceful and positive manner, it will bring about peace within the NDC.
Differences in parliamentary debates are always welcome, but they should be carried out within the framework of peace and tolerance for one another.
Email address/whatsApp number of author: Pradmat201@gmail.com (0553318911)
Majority Leader Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
Minority Leader Dr Cassiel Ato
Speaker Mr Alban Bagbin
Today, I focus on the Apostolic Church International in Finland, as I continue with my description of institutions and personalities and their accomplishments as members of the Ghanaian Diaspora in Finland.
The Apostolic Church International, Finland (or, Apostolic International Association Ry) was established in October 9, 2023. The Church in Finland has seen significant strides and accomplishments within the short time that it has been established in Finland, which must be highlighted.
History of the Church in Ghana
The Apostolic Church Ghana originated from the 1904–1905 Welsh revival, officially established in Ghana (then called Gold Coast) in 1935 following connections between a local prayer group in Asamankese (a town in southern Ghana), led by Peter Newman Anim, and the Apostolic Church, UK. There were historical splits in 1939 and 1953, but the Apostolic Church attained autonomy in 1985.
Today, the Church is headquartered in Accra. Last year (2025), it dedicated its new 10-storey headquarters, “The Apostolic Church Tower,” in Frafraha, Adenta West in Accra.
Activities of the Apostolic Church in Finland
The Apostolic Church in Finland conducts church service on Sundays. The service starts at 11a.m. in the morning and closes by 1 p.m. in the afternoon. There are no other activities during other days for now.
The Minister in charge of the church in Finland is also the Area Head of Italy Area. He is Pastor Daniel Kofi Addison who is the new Italy Area Head, and has just been transferred from UK South Area to Italy Area during the just-ended Council Meeting in March this year. Italy Area comprises Italy, which has 13 Assemblies, Germany, one Assembly, and Finland, one Assembly.
Elder Ebenezer Amoaning-Coffie is the Presiding Elder in charge of the Assembly in Finland. A Presiding Elder is responsible for day to day activities of the church (Assembly) and reports to the District Pastor, or in the absence of the District Pastor, reports to the Area Head.
Achievements
The Apostolic Church International, Finland was officially registered under the Finnish Law, guaranteeing freedom of worship and providing legal foundation for future growth. The church service is conducted in both English and Twi.
The church opens its doors to all people of every nation, especially Ghanaians who are in Finland and other African nationals. Now, the membership comprises Ghanaians, Nigerians and Sierra Leoneans.
The Church and the Ghanaian migrant community in Finland
The Apostolic Church in Finland plays a prominent role as a religious group that serves Ghanaian migrants and others in the Finnish society.
Thus, the Apostolic Church is a religious body for Ghanaian migrants in Finland and other nationalities who want to worship with them for diversity and better intercultural and multicultural understanding.
Elder Amoaning-Coffie said that the main and primary aim of the church is to bring people closer to God. “We aim to win souls for Christ. We aim to preach the gospel to the world. By propagating the gospel to the people, we are hopeful that they will turn away from any ungodly ways and be good individuals in the community and in society in general”, he stated.
He said that everything is going well so far. A key challenge, however, is how to get more members especially the youth. As a new Assembly, we are in need of instrumentalists, for example. We pray to God Almighty to help us do His work, the Elder disclosed.
Integration
By its activities, the Apostolic Church is helping to ensure integration of its members well into the Finish society. This is important since social interaction and citizens’ well-being are an important part of the integration process in Finland.
As I mentioned some time ago, the role of migrant associations and groups such as the Apostolic Church acting as bridge-builders for the integration and inclusion of migrants through participation in the decision making process and by acting as a representative voice is highly appreciated in Finland. Thank you!
With Dr Perpetual Crentsil
The landscape of the Ghanaian palate is shifting, and not necessarily for the better. In our bustling urban centres, from the streets of Accra to the suburbs of Kumasi, a quiet culinary revolution is taking place; one where the mortar and pestle are being replaced by the pizza oven and the deep fryer. This transition from traditional staple foods like fufu, banku, akple, kenkey, tuo zaafi, and ampesi toward “continental” dishes is more than just a change in appetite; it is a reflection of a deeper social struggle with identity and prestige.
The illusion of modernity
For many, “stepping out” for a meal has become synonymous with consuming foreign cuisine. There is an unspoken social hierarchy where a bowl of Abunuabunu is relegated to the village category, while burgers, pizzas are branded as prestigious choices. We have reached a stage where we equate foreign with modern and local with primitive.
This perception is a dangerous illusion. Our traditional dishes are marvels of culinary engineering complex, nutrient-dense, and deeply rooted in our history. When we choose a processed foreign import over a meal made from local tubers or fermented maize, we are not just changing our lunch; we are eroding the indigenous knowledge attached to our local ingredients and foods.
We need to turn the consumption of indigenous grains and tubers like millet, sorghum, and plantain into a statement of self-worth and national pride.
The cultural and health erosion
Every time a local dish disappears from a restaurant menu to make room for foreign fast food, we lose a piece of our cultural fabric. Traditional Ghanaian cooking is an art that requires patience and skill. By choosing the convenience of foreign fast food, we are raising a generation that may know the taste of a pepperoni pizza but cannot identify the rich, earthy profile of Prekese or the subtle tang of well-fermented dough dishes like corn porridge, banku, etew, abolo, agidi or kamfa, and kenkey.
Furthermore, we are at the crossroads of a nutrition transition. Replacing high-fiber, indigenous crops with calorie-dense but nutrient-poor foreign fast foods is driving a rise in lifestyle diseases such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, stroke, cancer, and liver disease. We are trading our longevity for 15-minutes convenience or unhealthy diet.
A call for culinary patriotism
It is time for us to appreciate, preserve, and promote our indigenous foods and culinary traditions. We need to be proud of our local dishes, ingredients and cooking methods, rather than relying heavily on foreign or imported foods. We must stop viewing our local delicacies as low-class and start treating our culinary heritage as the high-end gastronomy it truly is.
True sophistication does not come from imitating Western fast food; it comes from innovation and adding values to our own resources. We see glimpses of this potential in the rise of branded Sobolo and the creative use of gluten-free plantain flour in modern baking of flour-based dishes such as bread, cakes, biscuits and others. This is the path forward. We must elevate our local dishes, making them as accessible, affordable, presentable and trendy as any foreign alternative.
To the hospitality industry: Innovate or stagnate
Our hotels and high-end restaurants must lead the charge. They must stop relegating local dishes to the “traditional corner” of the buffet, and apply the same culinary finesse given to imported dishes to our Fante Fante, apapransa, aborbi tadi, fetritoto, akple, abolo, yakayeke, fufu, ampesi, kokonte, wasawasa, tubani, apapransa, mpotompoto, kelewele, aliha, brukutu, pito, and other local dishes. The industry must enhance customer experiences making eating local dishes the ultimate luxury experience for both tourists and residents alike. We must elevate the presentation of our foods by using modern plating techniques to show that a bowl of light soup can be as visually stunning as a French consommé. We need to reclaim our Ghanaian plate before it is too late.
To the policy makers: Let us encourage buying of local ingredients to promote the local food industry and economy. There should be educational programmes and talks about the nutritional and cultural benefits of local foods so that people understand their value.
We need to encourage serving traditional dishes at school programmes, parties, and celebrations instead of only fast foods,
To the Youth: Let us value and appreciate our traditional dishes instead of always choosing foreign foods. There must be balance in our choice of local and foreign dishes. Confidence in our culture encourages others to respect it too. Our local dishes can also be promoted by sharing pictures, recipes, and videos on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp to make them attractive and trendy.
Young citizens must learn from their parents and elders how to prepare local meals to keep the knowledge and cultural relevance alive. Local dishes can be modernised to appeal to younger generations and tourists.
Conclusion
We cannot afford to trade our heritage for foreign cuisines which are gaining grounds across the country at an alarming rate. We must disabuse our minds of the perception that anything foreign or imported is better than those locally made. Our health, economy, and identity are tied to the soil. It is time to stop apologising for our local flavours and start celebrating them. It is possible to embrace modernity without losing ourselves and our cultural identity. Let us make the Ghanaian kitchen the heart of our modern identity once again.
By: Marilyn Gadogbe
