Speaker Bagbin praised for new dress code to parliament

Traditional rulers and native overlords around the country are hailing the Speaker of the 8th Parliament of the Fourth Republic, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, for his announcement of a decision to return the country to a First republican tradition of wearing traditional Ghanaian attires in Parliament.

According to the chiefs, including some from the Volta and the Greater Accra Regions, the Speaker’s announcement is a welcome one, as it will uplift the image of the country’s rich traditional fashion and boost its culture.

“Like the Rt. Honourable Speaker said, I think that this is long overdue, it is good that the Speaker has set the pace for all of us as Ghanaians, let us promote made in Ghana and our culture, some of my friends who are also chiefs in Ashanti and Western regions have spoken to me on phone, and they were full of praise for Speaker Bagbin.” Togbui Xadzi II, chief of Ho and the Presiding Member of the Ho Municipal Assembly said.

He adds, “we lament all the time that our culture is on the decline and yet our institutions and governments make their fashion statements in Western clothes. How do we promote our culture when our actions say that we do not appreciate that same culture?

“This is the reason why I think that the Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin should be greatly commended for the initiative to have MPs to dress like Ghanaians,” Togbui Xadzi II said.

On Tuesday, the Speaker welcomed MPs back from recess with an address that announced the virtual change of the dress code in Parliament. According to the Speaker, the time had come for MPs, representing the people, to dress in a way that represents the people they are representing.

“Hon Members, this is the Parliament of Ghana, a unique made in Ghana product and we must showcase and market it to the world as a brand. We must create a unique set of values and norms that will give a unique character to our Parliament to set it apart from the colonial legacies of the British system. My outfit today, as the Speaker and presiding officer, is to set in motion that agenda. The practice of MPs decently dressed in traditional attire led by the Speaker is long overdue.

“Ghanaians accept representation of the people to include representation of the full identity of the Ghanaian – i. e. culture, tradition and more importantly, their dress code,” the Speaker said.

And to set the tone, the Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin dressed like a chief from the Volta region.

Togbui Datsomor Adelashie II of Anlo, who is also the Ewe Chief of Tema, also commended the Speaker for the initiative, saying that not only will it make the country’s Parliament more representative of its culture, but also boost the local fashion industry.

“if we have our state actors dressing like Ghanaians, it will boost interest in our local textile and fashion and this will, in turn, boost the local fashion industry in the country, the Speaker, therefore, deserves to be praised for the initiative,” he said.

On his part, Nii Afotey Botwe ll, a Chief of Nungua in the Greater Accra Region and Presiding Member of the Krowor Municipal Assembly, called on all other arms of government, “to emulate the wise move that the Rt. Hon. Speaker has made so that we can have a government that truly represents our culture, our Lawyers and Judges should also emulate Speaker Bagbin.

Nii Afotey Botwe II praised the Speaker for setting the first example, asking him to “use all influence under his hand to ensure that this Cultural Revolution sparks and spreads from the people’s parliament.”