PNC to seek its identity in Parliament
Duality
of roles should not breed discomfort in governance
Parliaments
urged to be sourced to exercise oversight functions
Accra (Greater Accra)
03 October 2002- Delegates to the Sub-Regional Conference for West African
Parliaments on Wednesday urged members of Parliament to be further equipped to
exercise their oversight function and to scrutinise national budgets.
The delegates were of
the view that the success of the New Partnership for Africa's Development
(NEPAD) hinges on democracy and good governance. The three-day Conference,
which was on "The role of Parliament in relation to NEPAD, sustainable
development and HIV/AIDS" was attended by 85 participants from 18
parliaments in West Africa, including ECOWAS Parliament and facilitated by the
Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA).
Discussions revolved
around the roles of Parliaments and Parliamentarians in the context of NEPAD as
well as the great challenges of poverty, HIV/AIDS and the new generation. The
delegates said there was the need for parliaments to be resourced to function
as the pillars upon which friendly and enduring democracies could be built and
entrenched on the continent.
They were of the view
that regional integration ought to be strengthened in order to create a solid
foundation for Pan-Africanism, easing of restraints on the free movement of
trade and people across borders on the continent and economic liberation.
The delegates were
also of the view that there was insufficient action undertaken to fight the
HIV/AIDS pandemic and that this ought to be remedied as a priority. The
mobilisation plan agreed upon included that the foundation of true
parliamentary democracy is the effectiveness and efficiency of the legislature
in the discharge of its constitutional responsibilities.
The conference noted
that for NEPAD to be the property of the peoples of Africa parliaments must be
well positioned to partner African governments and their foreign collaborators
to fine-tune the NEPAD document for a collective implementation.
They recommended that
African Union Parliaments should set up select committees on ECOWAS, the
African Union and NEPAD so that these committees could constantly review the
agenda and programmes in order to make recommendations to the AU, governments
and relevant agencies.
It said parliaments
should also hold periodic public fora or hearings to engender discussions on
non-partisan basis so that national interest on developmental issues becomes
the rallying point of carrying all the people along.
Members of Parliament
should also be encouraged to consult and mobilise public opinion to support the
objectives of NEPAD, regional and sub-regional workshops should be facilitated
for constant review of the NEPAD documents so that all parliaments could
function proactively in fashioning the NEPAD agenda.
"We should work
with the Executive arm in seeking common grounds for addressing and resolving
conflicts on the continent because NEPAD could only succeed in a conflict free
environment and all member Parliaments must contribute and work collectively
towards conflict resolution".
The delegates
suggested setting up of up-to-date libraries, while parliamentary research
groups and university staff are commissioned to organise periodic conferences
for Members of Parliament to enable them to upgrade their knowledge at various
stages of implementation of the NEPAD agenda.
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PNC
to seek its identity in Parliament
Accra (Greater Accra)
03 October 2002- Mr David Apasere, People's National Convention (PNC) Member of
Parliament for Bolgatanga, on Wednesday said the PNC was seeking its own
political identity in Parliament to reverse the "conspicuous
discrimination against it."
"The entire leadership
of Parliament does not recognise us. In fact, it is as if we do not exist in
the house at all. We want to be very independent and support any side at our
own pace and convenience."
Mr Apasere told the
Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, "the romance we had with the
ruling NPP during the election and after should be well over by now. We do not
have to talk about yesterday, yesterday. It should be history”. "We should
have our own focus as a political party with a political philosophy that should
be defended always".
He said the current
structures in Parliament made it very difficult for minority parties to be
recognised. "This is a betrayal of democracy, the spirit of representation
and political opinions in a place where members were elected on their own
merit."
He said PNC members
were mostly ignored when it came to parliamentary representations to
conferences and workshops as well as serious undertakings at home and abroad.
According to the
member, he had to "gate-crash" at the just ended Association of
European Parliamentarians for Africa (AWEPA) conference. "I had to apply
to attend through the Majority Whip who only asked me to attend. I attended but
did not find my name on the list of participants. The two main parties, NPP and
NDC had 30 places each. That is my story."
He said, "if we
are not elected to be members of the ECOWAS Parliament because the argument was
that there were limited seats, what about the AWEPA conference which was held
in Accra and offering 60 seats? This is discrimination." The member said
the current classification of parties in Parliament should be changed since it
is "intimidating, backward and discriminatory."
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Duality
of roles should not breed discomfort in governance
Accra (Greater Accra)
03 October 2002- The Senior Minister, M Joseph Henry Mensah has said that the
constitutional provision, under which Members of Parliament could become
Ministers, should be a source of conflict in the interactions between the main
Organs of State.
"The duality of
roles played by certain persons who are Members of Parliament and are also
members of the executive by virtue of their appointment as ministers should not
bring discomfort as all the two bodies are in a partnership for national
development."
Mr. Mensah was
delivering the closing address of the Association of European Parliamentarians
for Africa (AWEPA) in Accra. Over 100 legislators from Europe and Africa
attended the three-day conference, which was under the theme:" The role of
Parliament in relation to NEPAD, sustainable development and HIV/AIDS"
Mr. Mensah said
government is pursing the total re-forestation of the country to tackle the
threat of desertification. He said: "We have defied nature and brought
enormous cost upon ourselves, the desert is creeping in on us, we need
sustainable development strategies address to these concerns."
Mr. Mensah, who was a
Finance Minister in the Second Republic, led participants down the memory lane,
saying, "in my time I supported an ambitious programme of replanting all
waste land, some would have thought it unwise in those days."
"The old dream
of the 70's development economics of holding back the banks of the Sahara
desert is worth reviving under the auspices of ECOWAS." He said government is promoting rain
harvest, saying the present building technology would have to be looked at.
"We are very
wasteful about the bounties of nature. We spend money to purify water that is
dirty but God does it for us free of charge. We need to engage in a sustainable
interaction with nature as our cities grow."
The Senior Minister
said most of the wars and violent conflicts raging on the African continent are
senseless. "We have disturbed peace, democracy and good governance too
often. What we fight over is not worth the price we pay in the process.
The World looks on as
we fight and goes about its business because they don't owe us anything. We
must place real value on our lives and ideas and stop being casualties of
unnecessary conflicts."
Mr Mensah said NEPAD
is offering a healthy forum for interaction between developing and the
developed. "This offers a sense of shared destiny. In the case of AIDS
some foreign companies are ready to give part of their profits to fight the disease
in Africa."
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