Private bills could be initiated through MPs

Ho, Nov. 24, GNA-The citizenry could initiate private bills in Parliament through their Members of Parliament (MP) in the form of statements on the floor of the House to raise important issues which could be developed into bills.

Such bills could also be initiated through civil society organizations acting as lobbyists to get such bills brought before Parliament as indeed a number of bills have.

Mr Paul Okoh, MP for Asutifi North and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises stated these at a Public forum for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Ho on Friday sponsored by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) and USAID under the programme for strengthening Parliamentary Process in Ghana.

Mr Okoh was answering a question on why it was difficult for citizens to introduce private bills in parliament.

He said provisions under Article 108 of the 1992 did not help such bills in coming before parliament.

Mr Okoh explained that apart from being costly to draft, bills needed to be drafted by experts, which expertise are scarce to come by. He explained that the reason why the Constitution did not promote private bills was because of the cost implications on the consolidated fund when it came to implementing Acts arising from bills.

Mr Okoh said as far as he could remember, it was only in 1969-72, when as a private citizen, President J.A. Kufuor initiated such a bill. He said interactions by Committees of Parliament such as the one being held by the Committee also offered opportunities for the citizenry to participate in enriching legislation.

As to why the Committee did not intervene in the industrial dispute between the Ghana Education Service and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Mr Okoh said, "we tried to intervene for the sake of the children but we have never been forgiven by CDD and the National Labour Commission (NLC) for interfering with the law". He said the practice of Parliamentary Committees intervening in labour disputes was no longer permissible.

Mr Robert Sarfo-Mensah, a member of the Committee said it was time state institutions were allowed to grow and operate for the country to develop mechanisms for addressing issues on their merit. He said the NLC is an autonomous body with the power to compel both government and labour unions to play by the rules.

"So the Committee cannot intervene in any labour matters. It is time to allow the NLC to take issues through due process", he said. The issue of NAGRAT, GES and how the Courts were perceived to be handling the matter nearly overshadowed other issues that came up for discussion.