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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has been given firm assurance the Legislature will not work to frustrate the business of the Executive.
The House, in its effort to strengthen and assert its independence and give a true sense of the democracy Ghanaians voted for, will do nothing to hinder the work of the government.
Speaker of Parliament, Rtd. Hon. Alban S.K. Bagbin who gave this assurance indicated that since being elected Speaker, he has built a healthy and fruitful working relationship with the President and also reached out to the Chief Justice through which a harmonious working relationship has been struck with both the executive and judiciary.
The assurance was contained in his acceptance speech after he was conferred with the coveted Millennium Excellence Award for MP of the Decade at a Special sitting of Parliament on Monday.
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The award is in recognition of his immense contribution to national development as a Member of Parliament. He was decorated with a sash and presented with a plaque in the shape of the Ghana map and a citation.
He said, “The synergy this has generated in the working relations of national leadership, translates into the successes that we have achieved in resolving very delicate and thorny issues that confront our dear nation from time to time.”
“Hon Members, evidence abounds throughout the developed world that the majority of them made tremendous strides in their development trajectories through the collaborative, yet principled role played by the respective arms of government.”
“Parliament of Ghana, under my leadership, will strive to make this principle a governance culture in Ghana.”
“We will also create space to bring the views of the generality of Ghanaians to bear on the governance of the country to ensure that decisions that affect the people of Ghana are borne out of processes that take into account the very needs of the people,” he said.
Speaker Bagbin pledged the commitment of the House to work to ensure there is value for every decision made and for every expenditure incurred in furtherance of the development agenda of the country.
According to him, the era when Ministers of State and other government officials ignored the call of Parliament to account for their stewardship is gone and expressed hope it will remain as a thing of the past.
He observed that the ability to widen the democratic space of the country and forge ahead as a united people with a common destiny would depend on how accommodating members are of the views of one another in the interest of Ghanaians.
Ghanaians, he said, voted in the December 2020 elections against extreme partisanship characterized by acrimony and rancor in debates on the floor of the House.
“Indeed, it is very obvious that the people of Ghana require both sides of the House to work closely with each other to help build the country.” “This is the concept on which the Parliament of Ghana was crafted. A unique Parliament, made in Ghana and though similar, it is different from all Parliaments in the world,” he said.
According to him, this found in the engraved meanings of the traditional symbols on the Mace of the House, the authority of Parliament and the horseshoe arrangement of seating in the House.
This uniqueness, the Speaker said, demands unity and wisdom to build consensus more often without suppressing dissenting views or the views of the minority and the marginalized in our society.
He expressed pride that so far both sides of the House have performed creditably well, which has spared him the ordeal of often overseeing a rancorous House, as witnessed in some Legislatures.
“The House, by this, has succeeded in sending a message of unity and an unflinching resolve to optimally explore available avenues in order to secure greater dividends for our democracy.”
“To this end, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the Leadership and Members of the House and hope that this cordiality will be maintained to deepen our parliamentary democracy,” he said.
Frontpageghana.com/Ghana/Osumanu Al-Hassan
