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The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, has called for increased investment in literature on the legislative arm of government to help citizens gain a better understanding of its operations.
The Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, has called for increased investment in literature on the legislative arm of government to help citizens gain a better understanding of its operations.
He made the remarks while launching two books in Parliament on Thursday, emphasising that investing in parliamentary literature would strengthen communication, promote parliamentary literacy, and ensure citizens appreciate the work of Parliament.
The books, “Subsidiary Legislation in Ghana: Principles, Practice, and Procedure” (249 pages) and “Parliamentary Language in Ghana: The Citizen Guide” (201 pages), were authored by legal practitioner Mr Benjamin Tachie Antiedu. They are expected to enrich the intellectual foundations of Ghana’s constitutional order, promote research, clarify parliamentary expression, and foster respect for constitutional values.
Mr Bagbin noted that parliamentary terms and expressions remain largely unfamiliar to the public and even to professionals in various fields. He explained, “Parliamentary language is not the English language. Parliament is guided not only by laws and standing orders, but also by expressions, traditions, and procedural norms that shape debates and decisions. Terms such as order paper, votes and proceedings, privileges, agenda, and hansard remain unfamiliar to many and present challenges to Parliament.”
He stressed the importance of supporting authors like Mr Antiedu, saying, “Our founding fathers groomed parliamentary staff to write about Parliament and its terminologies.” He also revealed plans to decentralise Parliament’s work to district levels, aiming to capacitate Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in legislating bye-laws and overseeing local governance.
The Speaker described Mr Antiedu as a new-generation parliamentary scholar with the intellectual courage to explore the technical aspects of parliamentary law and procedure.
The author dedicated the books to Mr Bagbin, the Clerk to Parliament, Mr Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, and former Deputy Clerk, Mr Eric Opoku Mensah. Mr Antiedu acknowledged their contributions to Ghana’s democracy and advocated distributing the books to students visiting Parliament to familiarise them with parliamentary terminology.
The launch was attended by members of the judiciary, academia, clergy, legislators, and students from schools across the country.
