Accra Hosts Commonwealth Legislators

ACCRA, - Ghana's Vice-President, John Atta Mills, on Monday in Accra, tasked Commonwealth Parliaments to revisit the perennial socio-economic problems hindering the progress of developing democracies.

You should revisit the critical issues of history, culture and levels of economic development as crucial ingredients in the construction and sustenance of democracy, Prof Mills said.

The Vice President was opening the ninth Commonwealth Parliamentary Association seminar in the Ghanaian capital. The week-long seminar has the theme: Parliamentary democracy - a vehicle for global integration .

It is being attended by 36 delegates and eleven observers from 22 Parliaments of the Commonwealth. They include eleven Speakers and the Deputy Speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha .

Ghana is being represented by 15 delegates. This is the first time the CPA has gathered in the West African sub-region. Mills said the issue of poverty and democracy, poverty and human rights, poverty and basic civil rights for all citizens, should play high on the agenda of the institution .

He said democracy must reflect these issues in order to realise its ultimate objectives of social justice. Mills urged the seminar to identify weaknesses and deficiency in the work of parliaments adding that its recommendations should help governments form better policies.

I urge you to come up with practical conclusions, vital and useful, in order to guide our parliaments. He said since independence Ghana has had a deep concern to achieve an enduring democratic parliamentary system, hence her continued membership of the Commonwealth.

The Vice President said despite the coups that have occurred in Ghana, the task of building a true and lasting democracy has never been ignored. Mills said the government believes that good governance implies a state that enjoys legitimacy and authority derived from a democratic mandate which is built on separation of powers.

Source: PANA