People must be made to have confidence in parliaments - Ala Adjetey

Accra, Oct. 17, GNA - The people must be made to have confidence that deliberations in Parliament would lead to qualitative changes in their lives, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey, Speaker of the Ghanaian Parliament, said on Friday.

He said: "The peoples we represent must have the hope that our deliberations will result in qualitative changes in their lives. If we are able to achieve this, we will then be strengthening the chances of democracy taking roots, blossoming and bearing fruit in Africa". Mr Ala Adjetey said this while welcoming participants to the 26th Conference and 43rd Session of the Executive Committee of African Parliamentarian Union (APU) that opened in Accra on Friday.

He said the floor of parliament should be used to educate the people, particularly warring factions to stop committing the various forms of atrocities against humanity.

Mr Ala Adjetey said the Session was taking place at a time that the African continent was confronted with unprecedented challenges of wanton destruction of life and property through civil strife, aggravated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, hunger, malnutrition, illiteracy and depressing poverty that continued to pervade many societies.

He said against this background of uncertainty, poverty, disease, hopelessness and helplessness, the APU as an inter-Parliamentary body could only justify it continued existence if it continuously engaged and prodded governments and other international and regional bodies to find effective solutions to the problems facing the continent.

"The myriad of problems confronting our continent lends particular importance and pose challenges to our roles as lawmakers and guardians of the rights of the people".

Mr Ala Adjetey said it was incumbent upon the APU to apply experiences acquired over the years to assist in the successful establishment and work of the proposed Pan-African Parliament.

The Speaker said in line with the Khartoum resolution, Ghana recently ratified the Protocol to the Treaty of the African Economic Community relating to the APU adding, that it was his hope that other countries that have not yet ratified the protocol would do so very soon.

Mr Ala Adjetey said the need to mould true democracy in member countries was more real and urgent than ever before since all political institutions across the continent were under pressure to bring hope to the people who were not just demanding democratic reforms but the accompanying economic benefits as well as peace and stability.

Elhad Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, President and Chairperson of the APU, said the Session was to evaluate the Union's performance as well as the difficulties that hindered its smooth operation.

He said the Union was strengthening and increasing its audience in line with regional and international efforts to give meaning to political situations.

"We must not measure the importance of the APU as a grouping of various national parliaments in union with other international organisations but how we are able to participate in programmes or bring about particular issues to bear through parliamentary debates."

Elhad Keita, who is also the Speaker of Mali's Parliament, said the Union had been called to play its important role on the continent so that in the end democracy and sustainable development would be achieved. The President, Mr John Agyekum Kufuor would on Monday address the conference while members are to work in committees, tour the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum and embark on an excursion to Tema.

The meeting would discuss and adopt a Draft Agenda of the Session, visit the SOS orphanage at Asiakwa in the Kyebi district and attend a durbar of chiefs and people of the Akim Abuakwa Traditional Area.