Do not inject Party Politics into national issues

Mr Edward Doe Ajaho, First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, on Sunday called on Parliamentarians not to inject party politics into issues that had national outlook. "We are elected by our constituents to fight for their comfort and welfare and it will not be fair to politicize issues that can bring relief and courage to the people". Mr. Doe Ajaho gave this caution during the opening ceremony of a three-day post budget review workshop for Chairmen and Ranking Members of various Committees of Parliament. The workshop would, among other things, educate the Members of Parliament (MPs) on the thematic areas of the budget statement and how such areas could be debated in Parliament in subsequent weeks. He commended the Parliamentary Centre and Canadian International Development Agency for sponsoring the workshop to educate the MPs as it would serve as a spring board for successful delivery in Parliament. Mr Doe Ajaho said as Parliamentarians, they had a major stake in streamlining rough edges in the executive and that could only be done if they performed their roles effectively by informing and educating the public on national issues. Mr Alban Sumana Bagbin, Majority leader, suggested that next time round the Resource Persons should be given ample time to study the budget documents to be able to deliver in the post budget workshops. He said the 2010 budget had a lot of social interventions and called on the MPS and all other stakeholders to step up their activities to achieve the purported goals of the budget. Dr Rasheed Draman, Director, Africa Program, Parliamentary Centre, urged the MPs to exhibit a high level of objectivity for the masses to enjoy their share of the national cake. He called for the empowerment and strengthening of the Civil Society Organizations and other stakeholders in government to enable them to put the government on its toes to deliver to the satisfaction of the citizenry.