National Security Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah, has patted the National Democratic Congress MPs on the back for the role they have played in holding the government accountable under the current dispensation.
According to him, the minority group is not obstructing government business but rather contributing to demanding more accountability.
The statement by the minister is a sharp departure from the position of the NPP majority in Parliament who have argued in time past that the minority have been hell-bent on obstructing government business-based events in the 8th parliament particularly the passage or otherwise of the e-levy bill.
Albert Kan-Dapaah, speaking at this year’s Commonwealth Parliamentary Association workshop urged the government to view the actions of the minority as an attempt to shed off the rubber stamp image of parliament.
“The study of the evaluation of Ghana’s parliament under the 4th republic reveals an interesting insight. The composition of the current parliament where the majority is decided by a narrow margin of one seat is in sharp contrast to the first parliament of the 4th Republic which operated as a one-sided legislature due to the decision of the then opposition party to boycott the 1992 parliamentary elections.
“What does this observation imply for the growth of Ghana’s democratic practice?...various interpretations could be given out of this insight depending on the interest and motivation of the one conducting the analysis. Whereas some consider the new development as a threat given that it equips the minority with immense powers to obstruct government business, let us view it as a departure from the perceived rubberstamping nature of parliament, allowing it the much-needed impetus to serve as a proper check on the executive,” he said.
“We love democracy…all of us love democracy but the only reason we love democracy is because of the checks and balances. Democracy without checks and balances does not qualify to be a democracy. Parliament is the only institution that can hold the government to account,” he added
The Minority caucus in parliament has maintained a stiff opposition to the e-levy which they describe as “draconian”
According to the group, the passage of the bill will impose severe hardship on Ghanaians.
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