In a bid to deepen engagement with stakeholders, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has convened a dialogue with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Accra.
The programme attracted CSOs such as the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) among others, to contribute to discussions on the theme “Interrogating Parliament’s Contribution to the Consolidation of Ghana’s Democracy thus far: The Perspective of CSO.”
Addressing the gathering on the rationale for the engagement, acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Evans Aggrey-Darkoh, contended that as a Ministry, they ought to interrogate the contribution of Ghana’s Parliament to Ghana’s democracy since the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1993.
“We do so with the view to seek to improve the general quality of lives of Ghanaians” he explained.
He expressed confidence that a well-functioning Parliament would promote four cardinal peculiarities including rule of law, multiparty political system, supremacy of civilian rule, and its regular succession and redistributive socio-economic justice.
On his part, Sector Minister and the Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, acknowledged the role of CSOs in a thriving democracy.
“My Personal opinion is that a robust civil society is necessary for our democracy to thrive, but the fact remains that CSO activism is the most relevant in an environment of a comparatively weak parliament”, he said.
He further indicated that the Ministry would continue with such engagements to deepen the governance process.
The dialogue centered on sub-themes such as the institutional framework of Parliament and its effects on the performance of its functions, the nature, function, strengths and weakness of committee system of Parliament, the Speaker of Parliament as an independent umpire, and the contributions of Parliament to the consolidation of Ghana’s democracy.
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By: Duke Mensah Opoku |citinewsroom.com |Ghana