The Speaker of Parliament, Peter Ala Adjetey on Thursday commended both the Majority and Minority sides of the House for sacrificing ideological and parochial considerations in favour of national interests to reach consensus on may vital issues.
"This spirit of co-operation and compromise resulted in the passage of a number of Bills and Resolutions and the ratification of various Agreements. Many Constitutional and Statutory Instruments were permitted by the House to take effect".
Ala Adjetey said this in a New Year Message to the Nation to wish all a prosperous and joyous New Year. He said "on this first working day of the year 2003 and in the midst of this festive mood, it is prudent that we reflect on the past, take note of our achievements to build on them, acknowledge our shortcomings so as to avoid their recurrence and in the process, set new goals, visions and aspirations to quicken the pace of our development".
The Speaker said undoubtedly some gains were made in several fields of endeavour in the country as a whole during the past year and Parliament had continued to play its role in all modesty with some success.
He said hunger; unemployment, HIV/AIDS and conflicts in some parts of the country were not peculiar to Ghana alone, "they are problems affecting the entire developing world and it is for us as a nation to discover ways of surmounting these problems".
Ala Adjetey said the bold decision to opt for democracy in 1992 was increasingly yielding results. Parliament continues to play her constitutional role, both the executive and judicial arms of government are doing their best while the media and other guardians of the people have not shirked their responsibilities, he added.
The Speaker said through these collective actions and responsibilities, democratic culture was being entrenched and Ghana was becoming the pride and envy of all especially in Africa.
Ala Adjetey said that Peace, the Rule of Law, accountability, love for one another, political tolerance, hard work and abhorrence of indiscipline should be every body's guiding principle this year and wished all a fruitful and joyous New Year.
