Parliament rose on Wednesday, March 24, after three months of hectic official business which included the passage of important bills, debate on the President’s State of the Nation Address, vetting of ministers and their deputies and receiving of petitions from street demonstrators.
Significant among the laws that were passed was the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act which will among other things facilitate and encourage the settlement of disputes through alternative dispute resolution procedures and provide legislation for the subject of customary arbitration which have been practiced for years.
The House also ratified the Petroleum Agreement between the government and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) on one hand and Challenge Minerals (Ghana) Limited and Top Oil (Ghana) Limited on the other hand for the conduct of exploration and production operations in the offshore Accra Contract Area.
By far, the most far-reaching, in terms not only of the country’s economic future but also its security, was the law relating to the maritime boundaries of Ghana.
The Act, passed under a certificate of urgency, is to secure the country’s maritime boundaries and it is significant in the light of the oil find, bearing in mind the many hot spots in Africa that are under dispute and over which countries have gone to war or have subjected themselves for United Nation arbitration.
The House is scheduled to reconvene on May 18, 2010 for the business of the second meeting of the second session of legislative body.
Like the Speaker, in her closing remarks, we commend the MPs for their sense of tolerance and consensus building that enabled the House to successfully complete its business. There were a few walk-outs and the usual heckling, but every Ghanaian has come to accept these as things that come with the territory.
Again, like the Speaker we, on behalf of the people of Ghana whose thumbs sent the 230 MPs to the House, plead with the Honourables to let punctuality be a catch-word for them.
On no few occasions, TV cameras have caught empty seats when the House was supposed to be in the thick of debates.
The business of Parliament is dear to the heart of Ghanaians. Apart from the fact that they know that it is their taxes that keep them there, they know also, that it is their thumb that sent them there in the first place.
While wishing the honorable men and women a happy Easter rest, we wish to remind them of what lies ahead. Ahead are all the major and most critical laws regulating the oil industry, including how revenue from the find is to be utilized.
Whether they like or not, the present crop of 230 legislators are part of the making of history. The laws they have passed already and will pass later in the year, will have to stand the test of time.
Future generations will curse the present generation of MPs if, several decades from now, latter day Ghanaians have reason to think that the legislators did not do a thorough job of negotiating the wealth of the nation with investors.
In the UK and other countries, members of the Legislatures have been implicated in bribery scandals, having received moneys to influence them in their voting decisions.
The actors in the oil industry are powerful and rich; they have tasted and may want more. It is not beyond them to “go the extra mile” by fattening the bank accounts of MPs.
That is a danger which our MPs have to beware.
Significant among the laws that were passed was the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act which will among other things facilitate and encourage the settlement of disputes through alternative dispute resolution procedures and provide legislation for the subject of customary arbitration which have been practiced for years.
The House also ratified the Petroleum Agreement between the government and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) on one hand and Challenge Minerals (Ghana) Limited and Top Oil (Ghana) Limited on the other hand for the conduct of exploration and production operations in the offshore Accra Contract Area.
By far, the most far-reaching, in terms not only of the country’s economic future but also its security, was the law relating to the maritime boundaries of Ghana.
The Act, passed under a certificate of urgency, is to secure the country’s maritime boundaries and it is significant in the light of the oil find, bearing in mind the many hot spots in Africa that are under dispute and over which countries have gone to war or have subjected themselves for United Nation arbitration.
The House is scheduled to reconvene on May 18, 2010 for the business of the second meeting of the second session of legislative body.
Like the Speaker, in her closing remarks, we commend the MPs for their sense of tolerance and consensus building that enabled the House to successfully complete its business. There were a few walk-outs and the usual heckling, but every Ghanaian has come to accept these as things that come with the territory.
Again, like the Speaker we, on behalf of the people of Ghana whose thumbs sent the 230 MPs to the House, plead with the Honourables to let punctuality be a catch-word for them.
On no few occasions, TV cameras have caught empty seats when the House was supposed to be in the thick of debates.
The business of Parliament is dear to the heart of Ghanaians. Apart from the fact that they know that it is their taxes that keep them there, they know also, that it is their thumb that sent them there in the first place.
While wishing the honorable men and women a happy Easter rest, we wish to remind them of what lies ahead. Ahead are all the major and most critical laws regulating the oil industry, including how revenue from the find is to be utilized.
Whether they like or not, the present crop of 230 legislators are part of the making of history. The laws they have passed already and will pass later in the year, will have to stand the test of time.
Future generations will curse the present generation of MPs if, several decades from now, latter day Ghanaians have reason to think that the legislators did not do a thorough job of negotiating the wealth of the nation with investors.
In the UK and other countries, members of the Legislatures have been implicated in bribery scandals, having received moneys to influence them in their voting decisions.
The actors in the oil industry are powerful and rich; they have tasted and may want more. It is not beyond them to “go the extra mile” by fattening the bank accounts of MPs.
That is a danger which our MPs have to beware.
