Speaker of Parliament Alban S.K. Bagbin has charged members of the Parliamentary Service Board to work collectively and collaboratively to improve upon the work ethic of staff of the Service.
According to him, there are some hardworking employees giving of their best for the Service and Parliament but admitted there also a significant number whose contribution is nothing to write home about.
He disclosed there are some staff who have no schedules and virtually do nothing and yet are paid by the state at the end of each month.
He stressed that poor monitoring and supervision by superiors must improve in order to attain the vision of being a model Parliament in Africa.
This was contained in the opening address the Speaker delivered at the inaugural meeting of the 8th Parliamentary Service Board on Tuesday, April 27, 2021.
He eulogized members of the new Board as persons of varied and extensive experience in their respective fields of endeavour who will offer their experiences to enrich policies and decision and to push through the implementation of the strategic objectives of Parliament and the Parliamentary Service.
He said, “This Board will have no excuse but to deliver.”
“This Board must also work collectively and collaboratively to improve upon the work ethic of staff of the Service.”
“What we need is focus, congeniality, cooperation and compromise and we will achieve a lot by the time the tenure of this Board elapses on 6th January 2025.”
Membership of the Board includes Mr. Abraham Osei Aidoo, a former Majority Leader and Leader of the House; Mr. Johnson Asiedu-Nketia, also a former Deputy Minister of Agriculture and former Senior Member of Parliament, along with the two Deputy Speakers and the Speaker as the Chairman.
Mr. Alban Bagbin noted that an area that Parliament has not fared well is oversight and private member’s legislation.
He indicated that though the performance and effectiveness of Ghana’s Parliament continue to be rated high internationally, its rating in the area of oversight is unsurprisingly low.
He commended the Rt. Hon. Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye for breaking the jinx and pushing for the introduction and passage into law of the first Private Member’s Bill, sponsored by Members from both sides of the political divide in the House.
“I must commend Hon Ras Mubarak, former Member of Parliament for Kumbumgu for the initiative to introduce the private member’s Bill to amend the Road Traffic Act. The Majority and Minority Leaders at the time, Hon. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, who were the joint sponsors, in addition to some other Members.”
He charged the Board to work to enhance the capacity of the Drafting Unit of the Parliamentary Service to be able to support Members to present more private member’s bills.
Speaker Bagbin argued that it is imperative to secure a Parliamentary Enclave and indicated though Parliament has been in operation since 1993, it is yet to determine what constitutes the precincts of Parliament as provided for in the Standing Orders.
He said, “We have no control over the use of the grounds within the parliamentary enclave; it is controlled and managed by the Controller of Household under the Office of the Chief of Staff.”
“As a House, we have no control over the “coming in and going out” of the premises by strangers and this compromises the security of Parliament and its Members.”
According to him, discussions have been held between various past Speakers and respective governments over ceding the entire enclave to Parliament.
He commended President Akufo-Addo for his commitment to achieving this goal and noted the Board will collaborate with him to fulfil the objective of having a determinable precinct of Parliament as envisaged in the Standing Orders.
