The newly elected Acting Vice Chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has stressed that Parliament’s partnership with the media and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) is very critical for the advancement of Parliamentary democracy on the African continent.
According to him, the partnership among these entities and Parliament is the key to opening up the democratic space on the continent by educating and exposing the workings of Parliament to the masses and also by providing the knowledge base and analysis needed to enhance the performance of Parliaments and Parliamentarians in furtherance of the concept of democracy on the continent.
The Acting Vice Chairperson of the CPA who also doubles as the Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business as well as Minister for Parliamentary Affairs in Ghana, made the observation on Wednesday, September 8, 2021 at a virtual meeting with African Parliamentary Monitoring Organizations organized by Parliamentary Network Africa (PNAfrica).
“You need to have Civil Society and the Media working together with Parliament.”
“If for instance money which is allocated is not utilized to improve the conditions of the people, Parliament must question it. When Parliament questions it, it is for the media and Civil Society to do the trumpeting to make the people know it.”
“It is for the media to help Parliament throw out this message for the Civil Society to come in. Because, Civil Society should also be carrying the sentiments of the people to Parliament and to the Executive that the people are being shortchanged,” he observed.
Dividends of Democracy
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu also expressed the need for a conscious effort to be made through this partnership to let the people see the benefits of democracy in practice in order to strengthen their confidence in this system of governance.
“And this is how we will be able to advance the cause of democracy. Democracy at the end of it all, should end up in the people having value for money; in the people incrementally seeing improvement in their living standards. Those are the dividends of democracy.“
“That is how come, partnerships must be built with Civil Society and the media with Parliament, the representative of the people. And if the representatives of the people are also not performing, it is for Civil Society to also expose them,” he indicated.
Advocacy for Capacity Building
He also made a strong point for the need to build the capacity of these entities to be able to deliver adequately on their mandate in the polity.
“But in all these, we need to build the capacity of Civil Society, to build the capacity of the media, the capacity of Parliament and also of Parliamentarians to ensure that the Parliament and indeed the Parliamentarians are able to discharge their functions effectively and efficiently,” he said.
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA)
The CPA is an international community of Commonwealth Parliaments and Legislatures working together to deepen the Commonwealth’s commitment to the highest standards of democratic governance.
It links Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff from over 180 national, state, provincial and territorial Parliaments and Legislatures across the Commonwealth through its network.
The Association which was founded in 1911 has a mission to promote the advancement of parliamentary democracy by enhancing knowledge and understanding of democratic governance, youth engagement in democracy, gender equality and equal representation.
Source: Parliamentnews360.com