Accra, Ghana//-The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban S.K. Bagbin has charged Parliamentary Monitoring Organizations (PMOs) in West Africa to amplify their collaboration with the legislatures in their various countries in the sub-region.
This according to him would enable the PMOs to embark on civic education programmes to help reduce the wrong notion and increase the appreciation of the work of the legislature.
Mr Bagbin made the call at the opening of the maiden two-day PMOs conference in Accra.
He noted that education on the role and functions of parliament is critical if the electorates are to appreciate the value that parliaments bring to the democratic process.
“Parliamentarians should not be seen as the main development agents by citizens. The perceptions and expectations associated with this often leads to the neglect of the core responsibilities of MPs.
This perception is highlighted in Afrobarometer’s research findings from round four through to eight”, Mr Bagbin said.
PMO and strengthening of parliamentary work
Delivering his speech as the guest of honour, he fully supported the objectives of the PMOs, given the invaluable ally that they are in the process of strengthening and promoting parliamentary work in West Africa.
Mr Bagbin therefore entreated the PMOs to ensure that the monitoring that would be done by them should equip parliaments to provide the required oversight responsibility over the executive arm of government.
Parliaments and PMOs
In a welcome address, the Executive Director of Parliamentary Network Africa, Sammy Obeng explained: “Parliaments are essential elements in the democratic architecture, helping to define and shape good governance in countries across the world.
As bodies that perform legislative function, provide oversight of the Executive branch, and represents citizens – parliaments mirror a country’s democracy”.
To effectively perform these functions towards achieving developmental dividend for citizens, it is critical that parliaments are open, transparent, responsive to citizens, and seen to encourage citizens participation in their work, Mr Obeng added.
This requires that the performance of parliament itself is subjected to assessment by citizen-based groups such as PMOs.
Programs Officer of Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Madam Regina Oforiwa Amanfo, said the conference is the first stage towards connecting PMOs in West Africa to enable them to share best practices, learn from one another and explore effective ways of engaging parliaments within their respective countries.
The conference was organized by the CDD-Ghana and its collaborating partners- the National Democratic Institute (NDI) of Washington, Parliamentary Network Africa and the Ghana Network of PMOs.
African Eye Report
