The Romance between the Parliamentary Press Corps and the Speaker of the House.
The current Speaker of the 8th Parliament of the 4th Republic is an astute, intelligent, and flowery politician. Also, the once serving longest member of the House in the 4th Republic.
Ghana’s fourth Republican-Democratic dispensation is 30 years old.
Speaker Alban Bagbin is an icon in the citadel of parliamentary democracy. He started as a chair of an important committee of the House called Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs.
He once led his party as a Minority Leader, and later as a Majority Leader.
He was elected as a 2nd Deputy Speaker of the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic.
Some notable positions held by Speaker Alban Bagbin are as follows: Chairman of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee of Parliament from 1994 to 1997. I became Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs from 1997 to January 2001. Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee from 2001 to 2004, Chairman of the Business, House and Special Budget from 2009 to March 2010, and also from April 2014 to 2016.
He became the Chairman of the Committee of Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs of Parliament for the second time in 2013 and the Chairman of the Committee on Members Holding Office of Profit from 2017 to 2021.
He was the Minority Leader in Parliament from January 2001 to January 2008 and Majority Leader from January 2009 to 2010 March and again from April 2014 to January 2017.
I was then elected to the office of the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament from January 2017 to January 2021. And as God will have it, I was elected as Speaker of Parliament in January 2021.
During the tenure of the Parliament, he was honoured by the House for his dedication and commitment to the growth of Parliamentary Democracy in our country.
Since his election and assumption of office as a Speaker, he has instituted some sterling measures for the growth of the institution.
The visible among them is the relationship he has courted with an important organ of the House, which is the Parliamentary Press Corps. This is the light, ears, and eyes of the House.
The absence of the corps dims the House. The citizenry will not know what pertains in the House. How the e-levy was passed and even how some few disgruntled members turned the chamber into a boxing arena. Thank Allah for PPC.
It was a bizarre spectacle that negatively affected the House in the 8th Parliament. (I pray, no more repetition).
He has so far demonstrated that by donating a well-furnished office to the corps, participating in most of the activities of the Corps, and in addition giving the corps the opportunities for its members to travel with the House, (Members) on international trips and conferences to cover the International assignments of the members of the House.
Currently, two of our members are out of the jurisdiction doing the same.
Such a romantic relationship is productive, appreciative, and must be applauded.
He is setting an excellent precedent.
The corps should take the opportunity to improve and capacitate the skills of its members and fantasize the romantic relationship.
Let me also commend the previous and the current leadership of the corps for consummating this ‘sexy’ marriage between it and the Speaker.
Together, we shall concretize the relationship and produce more talented, experienced, and specialised journalists for this principal organ of the state.
Allah bless the Speaker
Allah bless the PPC
Allah bless the leadership
Allah bless the members, especially my good self
Allah blesses the Parliament of our Republic and our nation, Ghana.
