Mrs. Freda Prempeh, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tano North Constituency, has called for a revision of the rules of procedure provided in the Standing Orders of Parliament -to reduce tension in parliamentary and other political discourse.
She said though the current rules of procedure in the order had, in some way, served the house better in ensuring civility during debates; “it however ought to bare its teeth enough than it was”.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, Mrs. Prempeh said: “It is not enough to apologise and withdraw damaging comments against colleague MPs,” but more explicit powers ought to be given to the Speaker to improve decorum in the House.
“Such powers should include the ability to suspend MPs during question period, they repeatedly threaten or personally attacked their colleagues,” she said.
Mrs. Prempeh emphasised that it was equally important to enhance the capacity of MPs (lawyers and non-lawyers) on the rules of procedure on civility, especially at the beginning of each parliamentary debate to reduce tension.
She recommended a national policy framework to guide political parties in developing their party manifesto.
This, the MP said, would not only reduce tension in the political discourse but also give way to civility to enable the country to enjoy the dividends of its parliamentary democracy and enhance national ranking on the global civil governance.
Mrs Prempeh observed that the move by Parliament to adopt its own codes of ethics to guide MPs both in and outside the House was highly appreciable. She expressed optimism that the implementation of the code would also bring the required civility desired from MPs in the political discourse.
She said though the country was doing well in consolidating her participatory democracy as it was ranked seventh out of the 52 countries on the 2014 Ibrahim Index of African Governance, the political temperature in the country was apprehensive.
Mrs. Prempeh expressed concern about the unethical conducts such as foul language, disrespect for each other’s views and character assassination which had characterised political discourses in the media and decision-making platforms such as Parliament.
