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Parliament reconvenes on Tuesday
Accra, Jan. 21, Ghanadot/'GNA -
Parliament is reconvening on Tuesday with the House set to
focus on some new bills, including the Railway and
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) bills as this
Parliament begins its countdown to dissolution in January
2009.
Mr. Abraham Ossei Aidooh, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs,
said the railway sector was undergoing some reforms,
including plans to extend the sector to serve the north of
the country.
He said it was necessary to introduce a piece of legislation
to support the reforms and position the sector to attract
private capital and investment.
Mr. Ossei Aidooh was speaking to the GNA in Accra on
business for the next session and areas for action before
this Parliament ends its term.
He said another bill expected to come before the House was
the ADR bill, which was necessary to decongest the courts
and open avenues to resolve conflicts out side the court
system to ensure that the courts would be the last resort
for seeking redress.
Mr Ossei Aidooh also the Majority Leader said the Customs
and Excise Bill would also come before the House for the
introduction of tariffs on mobile talk time as captured on
the 2007 budget.
He said, as a part of his legacy, President Kufuor was
pushing to make Parliament's budgetary allocation autonomous
and independent of the Finance Ministry to ensure that the
Ministry did not lump Parliament's budget with those of
government ministries, agencies and departments.
Mr Ossei Aidooh said should the President's plans succeed
Parliament's budgetary allocation would directly be decided
between the Presidency and the legislature.
He said another area of concern was the institutional and
structural changes needed to enhance the image and work of
parliament through revision of the Parliamentary Service Act
and the completion of the Job 600 building project.
He said a committee would be set up by Parliament to look at
the Standing Orders of the House for possible revision to
further entrench parliamentary democracy.
GNA
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