By Aji Fatou Faal
just back from Accra
The 2nd Deputy Speaker of Parliament of Ghana has disclosed that capacity building of members of the Parliamentary Press Corps to enhance their knowledge of parliament proceedings and technicalities surrounding the subject.
Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin made this revelation during the West African Parliamentary Press Corps Symposium and Media Summit 2018 held at Accra International Conference Centre in Accra, Ghana.
According to him, proceedings in the House are very technical and it requires proper understanding by a reporter before they can effectively communicate to the public.
He suggested for news editors and reporters to avail themselves with the Standing Orders and regulations of Parliament through periodical capacity building on procedures in Parliament.
Bagbin however lamented that the trend where media houses withdraw personnel from reporting from the House after their capacity have been enhanced by Parliament and are replaced with a new reporter who mostly knows next to nothing when it comes to Parliamentary proceedings.
The Second Deputy Speaker who is also the Member of Parliament for the Nadowli/Kaleo in Upper West region on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is the longest serving MP in since 1993, after the inception of the 1992 constitution which gave birth to the fourth Republic with a nickname of “McCain” of Ghana’s Parliament.
Other resource persons at the event included the Deputy Minority Leader James Klutse Avedzi, First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei Owusu, Albert Kan Dapaah -Minister for National Security, Dr Joyce Aryee, Kate Addo, Acting Director of Public Affairs of Parliament and the Chairman of Ghana’s Delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament, Opare Ansah who is also the MP for Suhum.
