On February 6, parliamentarians will begin sessions by reciting the National Pledge, marking the implementation of new standing orders.
The new standing orders also mandate that heads of state of institutions must directly appear before Parliament to address agency-related queries.
Previously, the standing orders allowed Ministers of State to represent institution heads during questioning.
The new standing orders will also require Members of Parliament to undergo a roll call and participate in reciting the national pledge at the start of proceedings.
Ahmed Ibrahim, the First Deputy Minority Whip in Parliament, explaining details of the new standingg orders said:/“Independent bodies like the Electoral Commission, the CHRAJ boss, the BoG governor, NCCE, and the Auditor General are going to be questioned just as we question ministers on the Floor and the mode of answering questions on the Floor has also been provided in the new Standing Orders.
“Previously, if you wanted to invite the EC, they would say he had no audience on the Floor and if the Common Fund administrator needed to come unless the discussion was led by the Minister but this time around, it is not going to be the same.
“The administrator can come and be interrogated by a committee and can be asked questions and he will respond to the questions and the mode of answering the questions has been catered for in the new Standing Orders.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
