Journalists schooled on new standing orders of parliament

Members of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) have been schooled on the new Standing Orders of the House to enhance their reportage from the legislative assembly.

The new orders came into force on January 2, 2024 to replace the old or­ders which has been in use since 2000.

The promulgation of the revised orders is in consonance with Article 110(1) of the 1992 Constitution which empowers Parliament to develop rules to regulate its own procedures.

The new orders are to address pro­cedural gaps, make parliament more transparent, improve the mandate of the House to exercise legislative authority, and enhance oversight and accountability.

For example, the revised orders introduce the recital of the national pledge at the beginning of each week, a roll call at the commencement of every sitting, open up Committees of the House to the media, yield the chairmanship of some Committees to members of the Minority caucus and an avenue for business of the House to be conducted via virtual platforms.

It also aligns with the ruling of the Supreme Court in Justice Abdulai Vs Attorney-General by giving Deputy Speakers voting rights and count them to constitute a quorum of the House, and increase the Committees of the House from 31 to 44.

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, opening the two-day workshop in Ada via zoom on Saturday said the engage­ment of the media was critical to bridge the gap between the people and the legislature.

“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.

“So time and practice have exposed gaps and usages in the old Standing Orders, which were detected as far back as 2001,” the Speaker explained.

The Clerk to Parliament, Cyril Nsiah, outlined the necessity of the comprehensive revision of the Stand­ing Orders after 23 years.

The challenges that prompted the revision, Mr Nsiah said, included the need for greater transparency, the lim­itations of manual procedures, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on parliamentary operations to meet the current trends.

“It is prudent that Parliament refined the processes and procedures per legislative trends across the Com­monwealth,” Mr Nsiah stated.

Vice Dean of the PPC, Stephen Odoi-Larbi, on behalf of the Dean expressed appreciation to the leader­ship of Parliament for considering the corps worthy of consideration in the ongoing education of stakeholders on the new rules manual.

He said the training would place members of the corps in much better position to report on the activities of the House with clarity as part of its contribution to the democratic process.

Mr Odoi-Larbi entreated the members to continue to be guided by impartiality in their reports to present the Ghanaian voter with accurate ac­counts of developments in the House as the general election beckons.

 FROM JULIUS YAO PETETSI, ADA

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