The Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and OccupyGhana, both policy think-tanks, have described the proposed construction of a new chamber for Parliament as a misplaced priority.
Their sentiments were contained in separate press statements issued to the media yesterday, and copied the Ghanaian Times.
The CDD said it did not believe the construction of a new and expanded chamber at an estimated cost of $200 million was reasonable or justifiable at the present time, said the statement signed by Mrs Efua Idan Atadja, Communication Specialist, CDD-Ghana.
It said the government’s ‘Ghana beyond Aid’ vision would suffer a loss of credibility as long as scarce public resources continued to be spent on self-serving projects of the political class at the expense of the persistent and widespread developmental challenges and needs of the people.
The statement said, all things considered, parliament was relatively well resourced at the present time and for the foreseeable future, in terms of physical needs.
“ In this regard, CDD-Ghana notes with satisfaction, efforts made by successive governments of the Fourth Republic, despite the country’s perennial fiscal challenges, to meet the essential physical needs of the House and its members,” the statement said.
According to the CDD-Ghana, over the past two decades, Parliament had benefited from the construction of an administrative block that included offices and meeting rooms for its Select and Standing Committees; the completion of the State House Tower Block, popularly known as ‘Job 600’, which had provided office accommodation and meeting rooms for Parliamentarians.
“The expansion and refurnishing of the legislative chamber to accommodate the increase in the number of Parliamentarians following the creation of new constituencies in the 2012 elections,” the statement said.
It added that CDD-Ghana, though, acknowledges the important constitutional tasks and roles assigned to Parliament and believes, with many Ghanaians that, the Parliament of Ghana must be adequately empowered and resourced to discharge its responsibilities and roles effectively.
“What Parliament lacks but needs to make a credible part of a system of constitutional checks and balances and a true policymaking partner to the Executive are not mere fancy brick-and-mortar but to assume its proper place in our governmental system through appropriate institutional powers, prerogatives, and self-governing rules that would enable members to initiate legislative solutions to public problems and exercise meaningful oversight of the Executive and public administration,” it said.
Relatedly the OccupyGhana questioned parliament’s priorities on the proposed construction of the new chamber, adding it could not believe Parliament and its leadership would even contemplate something so inconsiderate at a time many Ghanaians still struggled in these difficult and trying times.
“Even sadder is the fact that it eats away the confidence people have in the democratic process,” its statement said.
While noting that Parliament had no power to appropriate state funds or obtain a loan for this, “we nevertheless call on our lawmakers to abort this plan and immediately take steps to win back the confidence and trust of the people”.
Meanwhile, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Majority Leader in Parliament has said that the intended re-building of the Parliament House was to create a 450-seater capacity area rather than increasing the number of parliamentarians to 450, reports Lawrence Markwei.
He said the need to increase the seating capacity was driven by the need to offer better protocol arrangements in the chambers as well as enhance the security situation in and around the House.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said these yesterday at press conference organised by the Majority in Parliament in reaction to the furor that had emerged in the public space this week after a news item came out that a new parliament building would be constructed to accommodate 450 parliamentarians.
The said new building, according to the news item would have a chapel, a mosque, conference halls and many other utility facilities to facilitate and enhance the work of Parliament.
The Majority Leader who is Minister for Parliamentary Affairs allayed the fears of the public that a final decision had not been taken on the project, adding that whatever decision which would be arrived at would take the views of the general public into consideration.
Explaining issues further, he said the idea was mooted when in 2017 the roof of Parliament was ripped off by a rainstorm which created leakages through the roofing of the House.
He said Dr Mahamudu Bawumia the Vice President on a visit to commiserate with them appreciated their concern for a new chamber which was then not an executive decision.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said though the submission for a new chamber had become imperative due to many protocol challenges during national occasions and foreign visits, the idea was not a done deal to be put out in the public domain even without the knowledge of the House.
Enumerating some of the reasons, he said, though the constitution stipulated that, the president should be sworn before Parliament, lack of space during such occasions have created a norm with most of the Fourth Republican presidents being sworn at the Independence Square, except for 2001, when former President John Agyekum Kufuor was sworn in at the forecourt of the State House within the Parliamentary House premises.
He said, a 450-seating capacity parliamentary chamber could then be able to accommodate all dignitaries within the Parliament House as well as reduce the security risk associated with the current arrangement.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, was however quick to point out that since such a decision would be made by Parliament, the sensibilities of the public would be the guide in arriving at the final decision.
News Desk Report
