General News of Sunday, 5 December 2021
Source: www.ghanaweb.live
2021-12-05NPP cannot bulldoze their way through Parliament – Prof. Gyampo warns
Prof Ransford Gyampo of the University of Ghana
The NPP must learn to dialogue with the NDC in Parliament
The NDC must also be open for frank discussions
Prof Gyampo warns that irreconcilable posturing will ultimately hurt Ghanaians
The ruling New Patriotic Party must wake up to the reality
Read full articlethat with the current Parliamentary arrangement, it does not have the political muscle to have its way in the legislature.
Subsequently, the party must learn the rudiments of dialoguing with the main opposition National Democratic Congress if they are going to afford the Executive the peace of mind to discharge the mandate given to it by voters.
“The NPP must know that it hasn’t got that political muscle to be able to bulldoze its way through Parliament. It can only do so if it learns the rudiments of dialogue,” the Political Science lecturer stated on TV3’s The Key Points news analysis programme that aired on Saturday, December 4.
He also had some admonition for the Minority Caucus with respect to the need to be flexible and to allow for concessions as and when.
“The Minority must also know that being overly intransigent; they are also not endearing themselves to the people of Ghana. They must know that if governance gets frustrated, it affects all of us.”
According to him, if budgets don’t go through, everyone suffers but that the “responsibility lies more on them (the Majority) to reach out” and give necessary assurances when necessary to get the Minority to cooperate especially with the hung Parliament that Ghana currently has.
TWI NEWS
In his view, even though the opposition may take steps that could seek to frustrate the government and by so doing expose their incompetence, with current events in the House, there was the “need for genuine dialogue, tolerance and consultation.”
He cautions that Ghana risks sliding into the Malawi situation where their legislature years ago saw equally strong caucuses flexing their muscles to the detriment of governance and development for a period of four years.
The eighth Parliament whose tenure started on January 7, 2021, has 275 MPs with the two representative parties – the ruling New Patriotic Party and National Democratic Congress – having 137 MPs apiece.
The sole independent lawmaker is MP for Fomena who chose to work with the NPP hence giving the NPP 138 MPs. Speaker Alban Bagbin pronounced earlier this year that that development made the NPP, the Majority Group not a Majority party.
TWI NEWS
