Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah

The Deputy Minority Lead¬er in Parliament, Mr Em¬manuel Armah Kofi Buah, has lamented over the social and economic situation in the Western Region, arguing that the area deserved a fair share of national development.
He explained that, the issue of a fair distribution of the national cake for the Western Region is a con¬cern which has often been raised particularly about the challenges not only of the road infrastructure, but, also healthcare.
Mr Buah, a Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellem¬belle, raised these concerns on Tuesday, when Parliament held a public forum to mark three decades of represen¬tation in Takoradi, on the theme; ‘30 years of parlia-mentary democracy under the 4th Republic: The journey thus far.’
He noted that, in most cases, families returned to various constituencies with dead bodies that could have been saved.
Mr Buah said the existence of a strong minority has held a balance and tried to nip in the bud some of the issues that resulted in the death of the three republics.
He said “as politicians, we should take note of these concerns and work collective¬ly towards strengthening our democratic governments to proceed on this trajectory,” he said.
Mr Buah explained that the minority did not seek to hinder the action of the government, but, rather to improve issues in the national interests.
The MP for Effia Nkwanta, Joseph Cudjoe, who repre¬sented the Majority Leader said the new democratic cul-ture was to establish a frame¬work of government which would “secure for ourselves prosperity, the blessings of liberty and equality.”
He said research showed that fewer people enjoy the fruit of democracy and that, constituents were angry and unhappy about institutions.
The MP told participants that Ghana was grappling with youth unemployment, chieftaincy, conflicts, eco¬nomic hazards, vigilantism, insecurity and corruption in public life, suggesting that “It’s time to re-engineer our constitutional architecture and parliamentary processes and procedures to conform to today’s realities.”
“We need a constitutional order and a parliamentary system that frowns upon the winner takes all syndrome and promotes collaboration, collectiveness and conversa¬tions in decision making at all levels of governance,” he said.
The Clerk to Parliament, Mr Cyril K.O Nsiah, described the celebration as a signif¬icant milestone in Ghana’s democratic history.
Mr Nsiah assured that the parliamentary service, re¬mained committed to provid¬ing the necessary technical support services required for the effective discharge of the constitutional mandate of Parliament.
He said “we will continue to reform our institutional structures to better serve your representatives in a non-partisan and profession¬al manner. The service shall strive at all times to uphold the culture, the values and principles of independence and impartiality.”
“We shall continue to strive for even greater achievements and leave a lasting legacy for posterity, as we firmly establish principles and ideals of parliamentary democracy in our nation.”

From Clement Adzei Boye, Takoradi