Accra, Feb. 23, GNA – Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has urged the various Committees of the House to submit their reports at the end of each session of Parliament.
He reminded all Parliamentary Committees that they were required under the law to provide reports on matters referred to them before the expiration of the Session of the House, which must be complied with; unless leave had been sought and granted by the House.
He said Committee Clerks and the Leadership of the House were tasked with ensuring that the various Committees submitted their reports in line with their mandates to facilitate the smooth order of business in the House.
The Speaker made the recommendation on Tuesday in a statement to the House to address matters that were pertinent to the functioning of Parliament and laid at the core of what Members of Parliament do in the Chamber and by extension the House.
“I have noted the slow pace of work that has unfortunately characterized the conduct of activities of Parliamentary committees and thus limited our functionality as a Parliament. It has become apparent that the problem of undue delay on Committee works appear to plague several Committees of Parliament,” he said.
This, he said, had led to a situation where some Bills and other matters referred to Committees had stalled, and the Committees had not been able to provide reports for consideration of the House.
The Speaker noted that the famous aphorism that, “the work of parliament is in its committees,” could not be overemphasized.
He said his statement was therefore, aimed at providing guidance for the work of the various Parliamentary Committees to ensure the streamlining of the activities, all with the aim of ensuring that committees delivered on their constitutionally sanctioned mandates.
Article 103 of the 1992 Constitution deals with the Committees of Parliament.
He said among others the Parliamentary Committees were expected to investigate and enquire into the activities and administration of Ministries and Departments as Parliament might determine.
Mr Bagbin said the framers of the 1992 Constitution being mindful of the need to strengthen the Committees as a tool for Parliamentary oversight, provided for the Committees to have the rights, privileges and powers of the High Court in relations to enforcing the attendance of witnesses and examining them on oath, the power to compel the production of documents, and issuance of the commission of request to examine witness abroad.
He said further, Order 156 of the Standing Orders of Parliament provided that all Bills, Resolutions, and such other matters with the jurisdiction of the various committees shall be referred to them |(that is the Committees) for scrutiny and reporting.
He said while it was the duty of all Committees to give the matters referred to its due and sufficient considerations, such consideration should not be at the expense of Parliamentary works.
“We must be guided at all times that our commitment to our democracy means we are doing diligent work in a manner that is efficient and timely.” Mr Bagbin stated.
He said admittedly, the Constitution did not provide a time frame within which a committee must complete its work except in instances of a bill introduced by or on behalf of the President.
He noted that under those circumstances, Article 106 (14) of the Constitution required that such a bill must not be delayed for more than three months in any Committee of Parliament.
Article 106 (14): “A bill introduced in Parliament by or on behalf of the President shall not be delayed for more than three months in any Committee of Parliament. “
He said the Standing Orders of the House however, provided a period within which a Committee should have completed its works for reporting to Parliament.
Order 212 Rule 1 of the Standing Orders states that “Every Committee to which a matter is referred shall report to the House before the end of each session of Parliament. If a committee finds itself unable to complete any investigation…before the end of a session, it shall so report to the House.”
“You all know what I am talking about, the number of referrals to the Committees. Since last year, the session (first session of the Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic) ended in December, we are in a new session, no report, whatsoever has come to the House. There is no reason given to us for us to consider on what to do.”
GNA