Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin is now serving as Ghana's Speaker of Parliament.
In order to enhance its ability to exercise oversight over the Executive and other Constitutional Bodies, Parliament has decided to adopt the report of the Standing Orders Committee on the Review of Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana. This would result in the realignment of fourteen (14) current committees and the creation of fourteen (14) new committees.
In order for the House to fulfil its constitutional obligations in a timely and efficient manner, the following committees have been newly established and given particular mandates:
Budget Committee; Committee on Human Rights; Committee on Economic Development and Planning; Committee on Security and Intelligence; Committee on Parliamentary Affairs; and Committee on Economic Development and Planning.
The remainder of the committees are as follows: the Committee on Sanitation and Water Resources; the Committee on Public Administration and State Interests; the Committee on Petitions; the Committee on Independent Constitutional Bodies; the Committee on Post-Legislative Scrutiny; the Committee on Bills; the Committee on Ethics and Standards; the Committee on Ways and Means; and the Committee on Private Member's Bills and Motions.
The listed Committees have been reorganised to more accurately reflect their mandates, which are as follows:
The Committee on Employment, Labour Relations, and Pensions; the Committee on Trade, Industry, and Tourism; the Committee on Youth and Sports; and the Committee on Energy and Petroleum.
The remainder of the committees are as follows: the Committee on Roads and Transportation; the Committee on Privileges and Immunities; the Appointment Committee; the Committee of the Whole; the Committee on Government and Parliamentary Assurances; and the Committee on Chieftaincy, Culture, and Religious Affairs.
The review of the Standing Orders took place at the same time as the review of the existing Strategic Plan (2020-2024) for the Parliament, which went into effect in January of 2020.
In its report, the Committee argued that the provisions in the revised Orders are in line with Parliament's efforts to achieve the medium-term goals. These goals include improving Parliament's ability to exercise its legislative power, enhancing Parliament's role in providing oversight and accountability, and improving Parliament's capacity and productivity to effectively respond to shifting trends in democratic governance.
The review is being conducted as a reaction to the growing public demand for Parliament to properly carry out its constitutional obligations. Previous Parliaments commenced the process of reviewing the Standing Orders in order to correct the structural and procedural inadequacies in the current Orders. This call for a review is the result of the growing public demand for Parliament to successfully carry out its constitutional duties.
The evaluation procedure could not be finished by these parliamentarians in time for the end of their separate terms, which is a great shame.
After the inauguration of the Eighth Parliament, the Right Honourable Speaker, in conjunction with the Leadership of Parliament, appointed a Technical Committee to carry out a review of the Draught Orders and submit a report for the consideration of the Standing Orders Committee. The committee's charge was to undertake the review immediately following the inauguration of the Eighth Parliament.
In addition to other responsibilities, the Committee was charged with finishing the work that had been started in earlier Parliaments.
The Technical Committee carried out a thorough analysis of the Draught Orders and has held multiple meetings to convey its findings to the Standing Orders Committee.
In its conclusion and recommendation column, the Standing Orders Committee, which is chaired by the Speaker, S. K. Bagbin, said that after carefully scrutinising the current Standing Orders, some inadequacies were identified; consequently, the Committee proposes several provisions in the proposed Standing Orders to address the identified gaps to achieve the objectives of the House, as well as to respond to changing trends in legislative practises and procedures. The Standing Orders Committee was responsible for drafting the current version of the proposed Standing Orders.
The report came to a conclusion with the following statement: "Accordingly, in accordance with Article 110(1) of the Constitution and Order 157(2) of the Standing Orders, the Committee recommends to the House that it adopt by Resolution, its report including the attached proposed Orders as the rules which shall regulate the conduct of business and procedures of the House and all the committees," the report stated. "These rules shall also regulate the powers, privileges, immunities, and conduct of the Members and the principal functionaries of Parliament."
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