Parliament To Employ Defeated MPs

Defeated MPs who lost their bid to be re-elected by their respective party?s primaries would soon be engaged by Parliament to constitute a body that will purposely educate the public, particularly the youth, on parliamentary practices during outreach programmes.

Besides, Parliament will also include current and would-be MPs as well as persons with solid backgrounds in Parliamentary duties and who have served in various capacities within the fold of parliament. These persons will include Chairmen of select committees, former Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Justice D.F. Annan and the former Clerk of Parliament Mr. S.N. Darkwah.

?If we want our democracy to strive then we must incorporate in the youth the references of parliamentary democracy?, said Mr. Jones T. Kugblenu, Public Affairs Director of Parliament. He stated this in an interview with The Heritage in Accra last Thursday. Mr. Kugblenu lamented that instead of parliament engaging personnel from ?outside? the fold of parliament as resource persons, the House deems it best to rather engage those MPs with rich parliamentary experience Parliament to Employ Defeated MPs and have served in various capacities, as resource persons for parliament.

Mr. Kugblenu emphasized that the resource persons will not be put on permanent salaries but they will be paid based on the programmes that will be drawn on a budget cycle of Parliament. He also emphasized that the group would not be a permanent body of Parliament.

On the format of the outreach programmes, Mr. Kugblenu explained that ?back-to-school? programmes will be initiated to enable MPs travel to schools within their constituencies to educate students on parliamentary practice and expose them to issues of governance in order to make students understand democracy.