Parliament reviews standing orders to make Parliamentary Committees sitting in public obligatory


Parliament is reviewing its standing orders to make it mandatory for all Parliamentary Committees to sit in public. 

This was announced by the First Deputy Speaker, Ebo Barton - Oduro at Parliamentary Leadership Forum in Sunyani. 

The event which was anchored on “Citizens Participation in Parliamentary Work: The Cornerstone of Parliamentary Democracy” was presided over by the Vice Chancellor of the Catholic University, Prof James Hawkins Emphraim. 

Radio Ghana’s Correspondent Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo reports that Mr Barton-Oduro observed that currently, it is only the Appointments Committee which is required by law to sit in Public whilst all other Committees, including the Public Accounts Committee, only sit in public if the Chairperson and members agree to sit in public. 

The First Deputy Speaker pointed out that the review of the standing orders is in line with the drive of the Leadership in Parliament to make the House and its Committees accessible to the masses in terms of public sittings. 

Mr. Barton-Oduro told the Forum that the trend in modern governance is to widen participation in the governance process by the different shades of opinion and groups including traditional leaders, women’s groups and civil society. 

To this end, Parliament has set up the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) under the Petroleum Revenue Management Act of 2011, Act 815 with membership from civil society, academia, think-tanks and traditional leaders to monitor the use of petroleum revenues. 
The Majority Leader, Alban Bagbin said the “culture of military regime” has made the citizens to see the executive arm of government as all powerful even though they have given the power legislators. 

According Mr Bagbin, the military regime mentality has psyched us up through our actions and in-actions to see the MP as a “junior brother” in the three arms of government. 

He indicated that this state of affairs has sort of undermined the power given to parliament to check the executive. 

The Minority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu asked the public to throw over-board the impression that the majority and the minority sides are always fighting adding that about 85 per cent of the time, the is a consensus between both sides of the House. 

The Chairman of the Public account Committee, Kwaku Agyemang Manu stated that democracy is not a licence for us to be dis-respectful to our leaders.

GBC