• Alban Bagbin calls for constitutional review
• I’ll leave you behind if you won’t go with me, Speaker to parliamentarians
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has vowed to change the face of politics in 2024 to ensure that politicians and lawmakers are corrupt free.
This, he says, will be done by ensuring that members of the legislature in the next election, disclose their sources of money and how they spend it.
His comments come on the back of claims that political parties use lawmakers for “dirty jobs”.
Addressing the house, Alban Bagbin said governance have changed from the old ways to smart governance, adding that there is no way a corrupt product can fight corruption.
He said “We will lead legislation in this country, the next politics you have to disclose the source of your money and account for how you spend it, yes, that is how democracies are ran. We just won’t allow you to go for money anywhere and come and spend it anyhow and then you say that you are running a corruptness free government. How can that happen when you have come in with corruption. How can a product of corruption fight corruption? Please let’s not pretend.”
Mr Bagbin added there is a need for a review of the constitution to suit the current thinking and the new type of governance which is smart governance.
“If you have an executive president you don’t have cabinet with cabinet approval. In any case in our constitution, there’s nothing like cabinet approval. Under our laws there’s nothing like cabinet approvals, cabinet is advisory. It’s very clear in the constitution but everybody is talking about ‘has it been approved by parliament’ when even you have executive president… but that is what we’re practicing not even according to our constitution. We have to relook at all these things.
“And that is why some of us having been putting pressure that we should look at the constitutional review commission report and update, revise some provisions of our constitutions,” he added.
Speaking with so much passion, the Speaker vowed to lead parliament to ensure that they rectify the wrongs in the country.
“We are the law makers, nobody else…I will lead you for us to do what we can and to update this government and strengthen this parliament for us to rectify the wrongs and get this country moving. If you won’t go with me I will leave you behind.”
