Majority Leader Lauds Media For Supporting Parliament

Majority Leader Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has applauded the media for supporting Parliament to educate and inform the citizenry on activities of the Legislature, saying, not only collaborators but worthy partners in the development agenda of the country.

Mr Osei-Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu made the call when the Leadership of Parliament met the Parliamentary Press Corps at a media encounter at Parliament House in Accra.

The event, which was on the theme: “Bringing Parliament closer to the Media, the role of the Parliamentary Press Corps,” forms part of the efforts to ensure that Parliament engages regularly with members of the Parliamentary Press Corps as key stakeholders in reaching the citizenry.

The event, sponsored by Star Ghana, an NGO forms part of Parliament and Star Ghana ongoing collaborative programme.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu also explained that the Media through their informative process and were able to help Parliament attract the inputs from the general public to enrich the conduct of business in the House.

He said the Legislature relied on the Media to as a means to account for the people about what they do in the House because “a primary function of parliament is to provide oversight over the executive and the other arms of government”.

He said parliaments all-over the world required the services of the media to let their voices be heard by the people.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu also explained the current session of the house would have 35 Bills for presentations within eight weeks of sitting, adding that, because of the tight schedule the House, it would have to prioritize the list of urgent bills in the legislature.

Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, Ranking Member on Constitutional and Legal Affairs who represented the Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu also commended the media for “shining the light on the ignorance of darkness.”

He said given the opportunity, the media should be able to access the performance of Parliament vis-à-vis the output of the lawmakers.

Mr Iddrisu also noted that the important activity of this session would be the speech of the State of the Nation Address by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.