Parliamentary Press Corps Dean bemoans insufficient funds

Sogakope (V/R), June 28, GNA- Mr Andrew Edwin Arthur, Dean of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC), at the week-end challenged the Leadership of Parliament to be assertive in their efforts to have enough funds to execute parliamentary tasks.

He said the situation on the lack of funds was serious and the earlier the situation was reversed the better it would be for Parliament to meaningfully exercise role of check and balances. Mr Arthur made the call at the beginning of a two-day workshop on parliamentary reporting for members of the Corps, in Sogakope in the Volta Region.

"Almost sixteen years into the Fourth Republic, we are still talking about lack of funds to provide meeting rooms for Parliamentary Sub-Committees. We are still talking about lack of funds to provide certain departments with accommodation

"I call on the Leadership of Ghana's Parliament to look for answers to why Parliament finds itself in such a situation. I urge them to diagnose the problems and find the antidote to the myriad of problems that are impacting negatively on the performance of our MPs. "We believe that something can be done about this situation. The House must assert itself," Mr Arthur said.

The lack of funds has become a thorny issue that has slowed or halted a number of activities at the Legislature.

Mr Arthur listed some as the construction of an office complex, unhonoured checks at the banks, lack of offices for MPs, which had compelled some of them to convert their vehicles into offices. The Press Corps, also, has no access to a single computer in Parliament to facilitate the work of its members; either to internet or fax facilities.

These myriads of problem, according to Mr Arthur, had made the institution of Parliament a laughing stock and a mockery. "This is very embarrassing as the situation is quite different in some African countries which are less endowed. It appears from what we see and hear about the predicament of Parliament that, we in this country do not see to value the Legislature," Mr Arthur said. The Dean however, expressed appreciation to the Office of Parliament for accepting to sponsor the workshop in spite of its limited finances.

He urged the journalists to apply the knowledge they would acquire in their reportage " to catch the attention of the general citizenry and carry them along with what goes on in Parliament."

Mr. Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, General Manager in-Charge of Newspapers, Graphic Communications Group, in a presentation, said journalists who report from Parliament must understand and appreciate the inner workings of Parliament and the impact it had on national development. He called on the Corps to educate the citizenry to accept that Parliament was more important to democracy that the Executive, explaining that Parliament is the only arm of government where diversity and partisanship can openly be canvassed.

"Whereas the Executive and the Judiciary are in practice not to openly demonstrate any bias, Parliament has the fullest authority to be partisan, including formal structures of the majority and minority and the Whips," Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh said.

He reiterated the need for the reporters to understand the institution of Parliament, its functions, law-making processes, privileges and immunities, and skills to lobby MPs to engage them in private discourse in the public interest. Mr. Freddie Blay, First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, proposed a scholarship fund by Parliament for the training of Ghana's Parliamentary correspondents.

He praised the journalists for their efforts, despite the constraints, in publicizing the work of Parliament, adding, "democracy cannot thrive unless it is linked to publicity. Mr Blay called on the journalists to effectively play their watchdog roles. "Sometimes, you have to hurt us to make us happy" he said, but cautioned against inflammatory reporting.