Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon Alban S.K. Bagbin has called for more focus on strengthening Ghana’s democratic institutions in order to sustain her democracy.
He stated that eight successive elections and four government change-overs between two major political parties are enough grounds to confidently say Ghana’s democratic dispensations have been consummated.
He argued, however, that elections and successful government changeovers are not the only determinants of a working democracy.
Speaker Alban Bagbin was addressing the launch of the 30th-anniversary celebration of Parliamentary democracy in Ghana held in the Chamber of Parliament on Wednesday, February 22, 2023.
According to him, the anniversary cannot be launched without paying tribute to the past speakers of the 4th Republic who have been pivotal in strengthening the pillars of democracy through their contributions and sacrifices.
Rt. Hon. Daniel Francis Annan (late), the pioneering Speaker of the First Parliament of the Fourth Republic, who served from 7th January 1993 to 6th January 2001; Rt. Hon. Peter Ala Adjetey (late), the Speaker of Parliament from the 7th January 2001 to the 6th January 2005; Rt. Hon. Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi-Hughes was Speaker of Parliament from 7th January 2005 to 6th January 2009; Rt. Hon. Justice Joyce Adelaide Bamford-Addo, who was the Speaker of Parliament from 7th January 2009 to 6th January 2013; Rt. Hon. Edward Doe Adjaho was Speaker of Parliament from 7th January 2013 to 6th January 2017 and the Rt. Hon. Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, who took over as the Speaker of Parliament on 7th January 2017.
The theme for the anniversary celebration is ‘30 years of Parliamentary Democracy in the Fourth Republic: Challenges and Prospects.”
The year-long celebration will zone the country into six with programmes planned to suit the peculiarities of each of the six zones.
Speaker Bagbin praised the preliminary work of the anniversary planning committee chaired by the MP for Abuakwa South Atta Akyea and urged members to reflect on the theme and to participate fully in all the activities that have been planned.
Majority leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, in his remarks, noted the 4th Republic did not come on a silver platter and that Ghanaians of all shades and persuasions fought for it after several years of military rule.
The governance of military regimes, he said, has not yielded much tangible development to the citizens in any part of the world and stressed it will be playing the ostrich to claim the justifications which military juntas intervened in the governance of the country have been totally eradicated.
“Neither can we also claim that our aspirations as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution have been achieved in their entirety. However, we have major achievements to show,” he said.
He lamented that 30 years into the 4th Republic, Ghana is still grappling with issues of poverty, youth unemployment, chieftaincy conflicts, economic hardships, vigilantism, insecurity of all forms, and corruption in public.
He averred, however, that claims cannot be made that attempts have not been made by the political leadership in the thirty years of the democratic dispensation under the 4th Republic to address many of them and added that institutions and mechanisms have been provided to deliver public goods to the Ghanaian people.
He stated it is time to re-engineer the nation’s constitutional architecture to conform to today’s realities and added stressed the need for a constitutional order that frowns upon winner-takes-all syndrome and promotes collaboration, collectiveness, and consensus building in decision-making at all levels of governance.
He urged Ghanaians to reassure themselves that with hard work and dedication, the country will attain the shared vision of securing prosperity for all as a nation.
In his remarks, Minority leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson argued while celebrating 30 years of stable parliamentary democracy, it is important to reflect on some of the issues that resulted in the death of the first three republics.
He stated that while reflecting, it is imperative to be mindful of the current economic challenges and work together as a common people to address them in view of the fact that economic challenges have been the basis for the overthrows of Ghana’s democratically elected governments.
“Nobody can benefit when the economy collapses. We cannot also underestimate the reaction of our people. If we failed to act, I am afraid, we would have let down the very people we represent,” he said.
Dr. Ato Forson urged members and Ghanaians, in general, to continue to cherish the parliamentary democracy and work towards building a strong and independent Parliament as the nation takes stock of the successes and challenges chalked over the last three decades.