A study on the performance of Ghana’s sixth parliament by a Civil organisation, Odekro, has generated a lot of hue and cry with many Ghanaians left in shock having realised how their Members of Parliament indeed represent them in the legislature.
The report compiled by Odekro looked at areas including attendance, contribution on the floor of the house and at committee levels as well as how effective MPs engaged the public among other parliamentary duties.
Odekro seeks to promote transparency, accountability and democratic governance through citizen action and engagement with the Parliament of Ghana and other government agencies.
The Odekro platform promotes transparency and popular participation by providing free public online access to Bills, Motions, and Parliamentary debates (Hansards).
The Hansards and Parliamentary data are extracted from purchased and scanned documents, Parliamentary Clerks, and portable document formats (PDFs) published openly on the Parliament of Ghana website.
Odekro uses a set of indicators to assess and measure the performance of Parliament. These indicators are derived from a series of variables and are combined into an index to measure variations in the quality, quantity, and output of legislative activity and to facilitate engagements with the public and other stakeholders.
According to the report, which was launched in Accra Tuesday, only 52 of the 275-member legislature, representing 18.9 per cent of the house, contributed to the amendment of 81 bills that were approved by the house within the period.
The reports further stated that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs made an average of 199 statements over the four years, as against 166 of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
