The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has bemoaned the fact that the legislative arm of government has visibility only in Accra.
He lamented that Parliament is the only branch of government that has no presence in the regions.
Speaking during the Speaker’s Breakfast Meeting on Monday, November 20, he said, “The plan to build constituency offices for MPs has remained on the drawing board as citizens, including some MPs themselves think it is not a priority. The failure as a nation to prioritize this has resulted in a situation where MPs operate without offices in their constituencies.
Mr. Bagbin added, “The only places constituents can find them is their homes or Party offices – be it dawn or dusk. For other constituents who do not belong to the party or parties are not able to go there. When such MPs leave Parliament, the offices are either closed down since it is their personal investment. The new MP would have to find his/her own office.”
He noted that unlike the Executive and Judiciary arms of government that have their presence throughout the country to give them visibility, Parliament is a single institution located in Accra, currently with 275 MPs from various constituencies across the country.
According to the Speaker, “The executive arm of government is represented by various Ministries, Departments and Agencies across the country. The Judiciary has a nationwide presence through various District Courts, Circuit Courts. High Courts and in some cases Courts of Appeal. However, apart from the office of Parliament in Accra, it has no visibility anywhere else.
“If we want citizens to appreciate the culture of parliamentary democracy, the state must invest in local infrastructure for parliament I believe some of us may be wondering why Parliament, which approves the budget for other institutions, should be lamenting about resources.”
“The difficulty though is that the lack of appreciation of the need for MPs to have offices has affected public support for it. Parliament is far advance in working on this issue and needs your support to educate and convince to pursued Ghanaians to approve it,” the Speaker stated.