By Elsie Appiah-Osei
Accra, Nov. 24, GNA—Mr Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, the Chairman of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Caucus in Parliament, has called on the Open Parliament Working Group, to urgently advance the implementation of various actions outlined in its plan.
He emphasized that Parliament’s prompt delivery of information to the public was essential.
Mr Bedzrah, also a National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for Ho West, made this call while speaking to the Open Parliament Working Group, a jointly established platform between Parliament and Civil Society Organizations, during its end-of-year strategic review workshop to evaluate its work and speed up the implementation of Ghana’s Open Parliament Action Plan, launched in June this year.
He noted that although the Action Plan was launched midway through the year, leaving limited time for implementation, the Working Group still had ample opportunity to accelerate progress.
He stressed the importance of providing consistent feedback to citizens and ensuring that parliamentary reports and information were easily accessible to the public.
“As soon as a report is laid in Parliament, it should be readily available to the public, and if citizens are not getting that feedback, then we have a problem,” he said.
Mr Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, the Clerk to Parliament, reinforced the call for openness, stressing that public trust remained central to Parliament’s legitimacy.
He intimated the need to strengthen Right to Information systems to ensure citizens, whom he described as “the true owners of democracy,” have unhindered access to parliamentary processes.
Mr Sammy Obeng, Executive Director of Parliamentary Network Africa and Steering Committee Co-Chair, highlighted the importance of deeper collaboration between Parliament and civil society, emphasizing that Ghana’s leadership in the global Open Parliament movement must yield measurable results that directly benefit citizens.
Mrs Mary Addah, Executive Director of Transparency International Ghana and Co-Chair of the National OGP Steering Committee, assured the working group of civil society’s commitment to the reform process.
She called for closer alignment with national OGP priorities, in evidence gathering, and stronger citizen engagement.
Ghana, an OGP member since 2011, continues to demonstrate its commitment to open governance through successive National Action Plans.
The opening of Parliament, anchored on transparency, accountability, civic participation, and innovation, remains a key pillar of the country’s efforts to strengthen democratic governance.
GNA
Edited by Lydia Kukua Asamoah