The Director of Africa Parliamentary Studies Center has decried what he said was the inadequate training given to Members of Parliament (MPs).
Dr Rasheed Draman says the nature of work performed in the House demands that legislators have to be taken through rigorous training which will help them to understand what is expected of them as well as how business is transacted.
This is not what happens in Ghana’s legislature, he lamented.
He referenced a discussion he had with a friend in which he was told that Dutch legislators are taken through six weeks of intensive training before they are allowed to contribute to discussions on the House.
“No matter who you are, you will go through the rigorous training to understand how the Dutch Parliament functions,” he told Dzifa Bampoh, host of Joy FM’s Newsnite programme Monday.
Many legislators in the current House will be exiting after their defeat in last week Wednesday’s parliamentary poll.
A total of 125 new members is expected to be sworn in on January 7 alongside 150 others made up of former members and returnees.
Some MPs who will not be returning include Foreign Affairs Minister, Hannah Tetteh who also doubles as MP for Awutu Senya West in the Central Region who has been displaced by former Communication Director of MTN, George Andah.
Deputy Gender Minister and MP fo Ledzokuku, Sena Okitey Duah also lost her seat to first time New Patriotic Party (NPP), candidate, Dr Okoe Boye.
It is a convention that new MPs are taken through two-weeks of training in which they are taught how the House operate and how to make use signs on the floor of Parliament.
The training is organised in collaboration with the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). The Institute has been holding similar training programmes for some other countries in the African continent.
Dr Rasheed Draman said the huge number of new MPs will pose a very difficult situation for the House since they are new to Parliamentary business. This, he believes will hamper activities in the House.
There is the need for institutional reforms which will take into consideration the current challenges, he said, adding “It will help in ensuring that we have a set up that will provide the needed capacity for new members.”
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