Empower Parliament to hold others accountable in government- Bagbin

Mr.Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Minority Leader, and Mr. Alban Bagbin, the Majority Leader Mr. Alban Bagbin, the Majority Leader, on Friday has appealed to the executive arm of government to consider empowering Parliament logistically to be able to hold other arms of government accountable. He also called for a closer collaboration and interaction between the executive and the legislature that would enhance the structure of governance in the country. Mr. Bagbin, who was having an end of year interaction with the Parliamentary Press Corps, said a lot was expected of Parliament to deliver and yet enough in terms of finance and logistics were not offered to them. He advised the media to unite the house by avoiding stories that could create acrimony and confusion between the Majority and the Minority in Parliament since the roles of both were crucial in the democratic dispensation of the country. The Majority Leader announced that the leadership in Parliament in collaboration with the Parliamentary Service Board would by the end of March next year pass the Parliamentary Act that would empower them to undertake crucial business of Parliament independently. He said Parliament would also establish a Technical Department of Parliament where experts in various fields would be engaged to work on national policies to support the activities of Parliament. Mr. Bagbin promised that Parliament would from the next sitting allow the media to sit in and cover their committee meetings and appealed to the managements of various media houses to consider allowing their correspondents to stay longer in Parliament to enable them to acquaint themselves with proceedings of the house. Mr.Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Minority Leader, urged the Parliamentary Press Corps to rise above the general news reportage and specialize in Parliamentary reporting in order to become authorities in that area. He appealed to the members to stay longer in the Press gallery in order to cover most of the proceedings in the house as most members were often not present when certain crucial issues were debated upon. Mr. Andrew Edwin Arthur, Dean of Parliamentary Press Corps, commended the leadership and the Parliament Service Board for their tremendous service to the media over the years and appealed to them to continue to support the media to play their expected role in national development. Source: GNA