The announcement by the Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Ocquaye, that a new 450-seater chamber block of Parliament would be constructed for Members of Parliament (MPs) has sparked heated debate on the floor of the House, as well as members of the public.
The Speaker, Prof. Mike Oquaye, last Friday made
the announcement about the government’s intention to build the new chamber
block when the main architects of the project, Adjaye Associates, visited the Speaker
to present a prototype of the new chamber block to him.
The Speaker said the new chamber block when
constructed would provide more space for members and assistants from the
Marshall Department to freely conduct business on the floor of the House during
special occasions like budget presentation and state of the nation address.
Besides, ministers who are not MPs could have places to sit.
According to the Speaker, the new chamber would
also consist of restaurants, IT centre, spacious press centre, spacious car
park, church and mosque, adding that the new chamber block would enhance
Ghana’s modern legislative practice.
Parliament currently does not have a canteen or
restaurant for MPs, no press centre for parliamentary correspondents, while the
public gallery looks too small to accommodate the influx of visitors who want
to observe proceedings of Parliament.
Even though the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, who
is a member of Parliamentary Service Board, has endorsed the project and even urged
the architects to factor fibre as part of the project to enhance technology and
IT compliance of the entire project, some members of the Minority have kicked
against the construction of a new chamber block.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for
Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak, who is leading the crusade against the project, said the
construction of a new chamber is a misplaced priority and a waste of public
money.
The NDC MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa,
for his part, said, “I do not think Parliament needs a new chamber block.” He
suggested that money should rather be used to improve the salaries of MPs
research assistants and also for the construction of offices for the MPs in the
various constituencies to help improve MPs’ interactions with their constituents
at the constituency level.
However, Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said Ghanaians must not misconstrue the intention behind the construction of the new block because it is in the right direction for the nation to help consolidate parliamentary democracy in the country.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr
