Your attacks on Bagbin weakening Parliament – ACEPA to MPs

The African Center for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA) has described as unhealthy the developments between the Executive and Legislature.

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has expressed worry over budgetary allocation to Parliament by the Executive.

Mr. Bagbin is reported to have said for the second time Parliament’s budget was cut and allocation to Parliament was done without any direct consultation with the leadership of the House.

“So that is how important Parliament is in this whole arrangement and discourse in a democracy. But I don’t blame the Executive rather I blame Parliament and Parliament is calling this on itself. Because there’ve been efforts to create a lot of division within Parliament.

“You see efforts in the last couple of months sometimes Members (MPs) come to disregard or challenge whatever the Speaker says. This creates an image of disunity within the Legislature and here both parties are in it,” the Executive Director for Africa Center for Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Rashid Draman stated on Morning Starr Monday, 22nd November, 2021.

Dr. Draman reiterated that the 8th Parliament can work with a united front for a strong Legislature that will be feared by the Executive.

Rather, “we have a situation where individual members are doing whatever they can to defend the executive and in that process, it is only the Legislature that becomes weak,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Speaker has said Parliament can make a move to remove the President from office.

Mr. Bagbin said the law gives Parliament powers to remove a President but does not give the same powers to a President to be able to remove a Speaker of Parliament.

Speaking at the Post-Budget Forum held at Ho in the Volta Region Saturday 20th November 2021, the Speaker made some concerns that Parliament approves budgets that benefit the executive more than the legislature and the judiciary.

“This year, all the laws we have been passing are laws we passed to benefit the executive, even we forget about Parliament in the language we use, this is self-inflicted; it is not a deficiency in the constitution, it’s a deficiency in Parliament itself. We must correct it.

“Let me reemphasise that the 8th Parliament is properly positioned not to allow itself to be bullied into playing second fiddle to the executive. Parliament can remove His Excellency the President; His Excellency cannot do that to Parliament. As Speaker, His Excellency cannot remove me, but I can through Parliament get him removed,” he added.