Legislature: Weakest link in Government structure-Alban Bagbin
“A number of these things have come to my desk
The Speaker of Parliament, Rt Hon. Alban Bagbin has admitted that the Legislative organ is the weakest link in Ghana’s Government structure 28 years after the adoption of the constitutional rule.
According to him, the Legislature has only existed to strengthen the Executive arm of Government at its detriment.
“I took over as the Speaker in spite of my 20 years in the leadership of parliament, Parliament, I did not get the real picture of the weaknesses until I became speaker. There is so much void. That for all these 28 years, the focus of Parliament itself is always working to strengthen the Executive arm and not Parliament itself and we’ve passed so many laws and forgot to include Parliament in those laws. Go and see the offices that are used in those Acts especially the Public Procurement Act and see whether Parliament is part of it,” he said.
“As we are even talking about Presidential Transition Act, we didn’t talk about Parliamentary Transition Act so they elect you as Speaker and you enter an open empty office,” he added.
Speaking at the Speaker’s Breakfast meeting in the Ashanti Regional capital, he described the situation as unacceptable and capable of undermining the independence of the Legislature if not changed.
Also he intimated that MPs are not above the laws but indicated that the required constitutional provision must be followed in effecting their arrests and subsequent prosecution.
“A number of these things have come to my desk. And you all aware a number of MPS are before Court and so there is nobody saying that a member of Parliament is above the law or Parliament is above the law but in this particular instance of the Member of Parliament for Madina, I can put my neck for it that you have no such power. After he has gone through the processes with you and you gave the date and you sent your man to go to the procession and he was addressing them that day and you sent a different contingent to arrest him while he talking to his constituent. That is obstruction,” he indicated.
