Ghana urged to accelerate efforts, institutionalise Open Parliament Initiative 

By Elsie Appiah-Osei, GNA 

Accra, July 7, GNA – Mr Tarik Nesh-Nash, the Coordinator of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in Africa and the Middle East, has urged Ghana to accelerate efforts to institutionalise OGP in Ghana, Parliament, and other sectors.  

He explained that the consultations, through the OGP,, through the OGP, would allow stakeholders to share their experiences, challenges, and ideas for improving transparency in the country’s governance system. 

“…This is critical for the upcoming elections and will help strengthen the OGP agenda beyond the 2024 elections,” Mr Nesh-Nash said during a visit to Ghana’s Parliament. 

He led a delegation from the Global and Regional OGPs, which met with the Parliamentary Caucus.  

Mr Nesh-Nash’s visit was part of a round of consultations with key stakeholders.  

High-ranking officials from both the Global and Regional Open Government Partnerships communicated with the OGP community and shared its strategy for 2023-2028.  

They engaged representatives from the Parliamentary Caucus, the OGP Ghana Steering Committee, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the Right to Information (RTI) Commission, the European Union Delegation and the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office.  

Mr Nesh-Nash praised Ghana’s legislature as a model for other parliaments around the world. 

Mr Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, a National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for South Dayi, and member of the OGP Parliamentary Caucus, stated that Ghana’s Parliament was making every effort to promote the OGP agenda. 

In 2011, some key government officials and CSO activists formed the OGP, a one-of-a-kind collaboration, which sought to increase transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in governance. 

The OGP links 75 countries, 150 local governments, and approximately 1,000 CSOs. Ghana joined when it was launched in Washington in 2011.  

GNA