By Edzorna Francis Mensah
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, has once again acknowledged the fact that the media plays a critical and strategic role in Parliamentary business, hence the need for their capacity to be enhanced for effective reportage.
He emphasised the essential role of the media in enhancing Ghana’s democratic credentials and stressed what he called a “symbiotic relationship between the Parliament, the media, and the wider community.”
Delivering the keynote address at a two-day orientation workshop on revised Parliamentary Standing Orders for the Members of Parliament Press at Ada, he noted, “for members of parliament together with the parliamentary community, the press is a critical partner in transacting parliamentary business, which is the business of the people,” and said media serves as a bridge between the government and its citizens.
The training, focused on familiarising journalists with the revised Standing Orders of Parliament, marks a significant step towards fostering a more transparent, accountable, and participatory legislative environment in Ghana.
The Speaker said, “there is a yawning gap between the representatives and the people, and that gap can only be linked and closed by a very important group of people or a very important institution referred to as media, both traditional and new media.”
The revised Standing Orders, adopted by Parliament on December 21, 2023, and effective from January 2, 2024, represent a comprehensive update to the legislative framework in use for almost twenty-four years under the Fourth Republic.
The new Orders introduce modern practices such as the recital of the National Pledge, conducting parliamentary business through virtual platforms, and a clarified hierarchy of Parliament’s Leadership, all aimed at aligning with the evolving trends in parliamentary democracy.
The Vice Dean of PPC, Stephen Odoi Larbi, on behalf of the media, expressed gratitude to the Speaker, was happy with the opportunity given them, and added, “we will be forever grateful to you. In fact, we owe you a lot of gratitude because you keep giving us reasons to believe. We therefore appeal to you for more of such capacity-building workshops.”
He noted, “when we succeed, Parliament as an institution will be a better place and will serve as enough basis to convince the Speaker and the institution of Parliament to continue to invest in us.”
