Book on parliamentary works launched in Asuogyaman District

A book on guidance on parliamentary proceedings titled, “The Works of Parliament” has been launched in the Asuogyaman district to serve as guide on the proceedings in the august house which is the second arm of government.

The event which was held at the assembly hall of the Asuogyaman District Assembly also featured a public lecture on parliament and democratic development in Ghana’s fourth republic.

The 118-page book has six chapters that address issues on the parliamentary concept with its roles and responsibilities aimed at contributing to the literature on parliamentary democracy and development in Ghana while providing useful practical details and background about how parliament works in Ghana.

The first chapter of the book looks at the evolution and overview of Parliament in Ghana, the second chapter talks about the leadership structure in Parliament, the third chapter deals with the business of Parliament, the fourth chapter of the book describes the functions of parliament, the fifth chapter provides information on the parliamentary service in the fourth republic of Ghana and the sixth chapter presents some lessons, observations and conclusion.

The author, Mr. Harrison Kofi Belley who is the Executive Director of the African Center for Parliamentary Journalism and Research, (ACPJR) addressing attendees at the launch said inadequate information about the country’s parliament inspired him to write the book.

“My motivation [to write this book] is as a result of the inadequate information about parliament in this country in the sense that not much has been written about parliament of Ghana and for that matter information is not available to citizens,” said Mr. Belley adding that the citizenry as participants in the democratic dispensation need information.

The book, he intimated is primarily intended for use by students, researchers, politicians, and those aspiring to become parliamentarians while encouraging readers to understand the parliamentary practices and procedures in Ghana to build their capacity for critical commentary on parliamentary process and procedures.

Asked if he has plans of inculcating his book on parliament in the school curricular, the Head of Department of Governance Studies Department at the Evangelical Presbyterian University College (EPUC) disclosed that discussions have already been held with the Volta and Central regional offices of the Ghana Education Service who have recommended that the book be made available to Senior High School and tertiary students while discussions with the Ghana Education Services in the Eastern and other regions will also be held.

Taking him three years to put together the book, the author who described parliament as the weakest arm of government averred that the institution needs a lot of exposure through writings such as his book to break down parliamentary terms to the ordinary person.

Mr. Belley who expressed his admiration for the Asuogyaman Youth Parliament said the institution of the group motivated him to launch the book in the district.

“This new development of the district youth parliament, I am very much happy with it because that is the starting point. I am so much enthused about it and I’ll like to be part of it,” he said.

The Honourable District Chief Executive for Asuogyaman, Samuel Kwame Agyekum who was present at the ceremony observed that while democracy has come to stay, education was important to know the workings of parliament by virtue of its status as the bedrock of democracy.

He urged participants not to keep acquired knowledge on the workings of parliament o themselves but share such information with others to enhance the populace’s knowledge on how the institution of parliament works to enhance the country’s fledgling democracy.

Special Guest of Honour at the event and former Director-General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Mr. Paul Ansah who launched the book said he was impressed with the contents of the book and urged politicians, students, researchers, aspiring parliamentarians, aspiring assembly members and the general public to adopt “The Works of Parliament” as a handbook.

The aspiring Member of Parliament for the Asuogyaman constituency on the ticket of the ruling New Patriotic Party was of the view that parliament should be a house of persons with ethics and morality to enable it function properly, adding that a nation without rule of law is destined to fail.

He urged the general public, particularly aspirants of leadership positions to grab a copy and urged the author to ensure that the next edition of the book is bigger than the current edition.

On his part, Presiding Member of the Asuogyaman District Assembly, Mr. Jonathan Hagan noted that it was refreshing that a book on parliament was being launched to keep parliamentarians and the general public abreast of parliamentary proceedings.

He however appealed to Mr. Belley to consider authoring another work on the works of the district assemblies to enhance the work of assembly members.

Speaker of the Asuogyaman Youth parliament, Rt. Honourable Madam Akonor Cecilia believes the book will offer the Youth Parliament a lot of insight into parliamentary proceedings to guide their activities.

She however appealed with the author to reduce the price of the book to ensure that it is available to each member of the youth parliament.

The launch of the book, only the second of its type in Ghana, attracted participants from the Asuogyaman district assembly, the Asuogyaman youth parliament, the media, the general public among others.

Mr. Harrison Kofi Belley hopes to launch the book in other districts including a national launch at a later date.

A brief about the book – “HOW PARLIAMENT WORKS IN GHANA”

The generally weak public appreciation of the multiple functions of Members of Parliament (MPs) and the profound confusion in the minds of the public over whether the main functions of the MP is to make laws, shape policies and to provide leadership in development at the national level or whether to provide developmental leadership and perform other services at the constituency level leads to unfair popular judgments on MP performance and fosters public disaffection with Parliament.

This also fosters lack of public sympathy for the severe resource constraints of Parliament.

This book therefore, seeks to improve citizens’ understanding of how Parliament works and to encourage them to appreciate the core functions of a key institution of state such as Parliament. It will be of good use for those interested in the fate of the Parliament of Ghana, from the general reader to advocates, researchers, development specialists, and government officials.

This book also contributes to the literature on parliamentary democracy and development in Ghana and provides useful practical details and background about how Parliament works in Ghana. It aims at encouraging readers to understand the parliamentary practices and procedures and to build their capacity for critical commentary on parliamentary affairs.

The book is a combination of interrogation of several sources: interviews, conversations, media account, parliamentary hansards, available literature, donor and developmental partners report on parliament, proposals and project completion reports of civil society organisations, academia and my own analysis and reflection on how Parliament works in Ghana.

The first chapter of the book looks at the evolution and overview of Parliament in Ghana. It includes sections on the transition to the fourth republic and overview of the fourth republican Parliament.

The second chapter talks about the leadership structure in Parliament. It looks at the functionaries of Parliament such as the Speaker, the Deputy Speakers, the Majority and Minority Leaders, Chief Whips and the Clerk to Parliament.

The third chapter deals with the business of Parliament which includes the standing orders, calendar of parliament, sessions, meetings and sittings, parliamentary practices, conventions, precedents, immunities, privileges and contempt of parliament.

The fourth chapter of the book describes the functions of Parliament and discusses the process of law making, representation, oversight (committee systems, approval process of president’s nominees for ministerial appointments) and the budget process.

The fifth chapter provides information on the parliamentary service in the fourth republic of Ghana, which looks at the five divisions of the service namely Committees and ICT; Legislative Management; Information; Human Resources and Administration. The last chapter presents some lessons, observations and conclusion.

This book was conceived with these publicsmind, namely: members of parliament (past, present and future), ordinarily Ghanaian citizens, as well as generations of social science lecturers and students of Ghanaian universities. Similar publics in other African countries and probably beyond will find it a vital resource.