Speaker charges IDRIG to provide accurate records
The Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye, has charged the Inter-Departmental Research and Information Group (IDRIG) of Parliament to provide accurate records for the House.
He said IDRIG had responsibility to manage information and research for current and future generations.
Prof. Oquaye made the statement when he launched the Research and Information Week of IDRIG in Parliament.
The one-week programme includes exhibitions and seminars to build the capacity of Members of Parliament (MPs) and staff of the Parliamentary Service.
The programme, which was sponsored by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), is on the theme: “Promoting Evidence-based Research and Information in Strengthening Parliament”.
Prof. Oquaye said research and information was crucial to MPs and staff of the Parliamentary Service as it exposed them to the work of Parliament.
He said Parliament was very critical to the development of the country’s democracy because it was the nerve centre of the nation where representatives of the people from all over the country met.
Prof. Oquaye stressed the need for Parliament to have a symbiotic relationship with the people.
He said as a result of poor information and lack of understanding of the work of Parliament people often made wild allegations about the House.
He, therefore, said the people must be educated on the work of Parliament to prevent any problems in the future.
Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader, said there was the need to use evidence-based research to enhance the work of MPs.
He said because of the oversight role of Parliament it was important for MPs and the staff to access the relevant research and information facility and tools in order to effectively function.
He said a strong and independent Parliamentary Information Service could help to provide qualitative and non-partisan background information to MPs to enhance their work.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu called for collaboration between the secretariat of the various caucuses and WFD to ensure that the functional object is realised in the democratic dispensation.
He said research and evidence were critical in facilitating parliamentary debate and could help in expanding knowledge.
He said building networks in the field of research and information services for the benefit of MPs was an important mission for the Parliamentary Service and WFP.
He said there was the need to interface the concerns of Civil Society Groups and the general public into the bills that were crafted.
Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader, commended the WFD and the UK Government for their contribution towards the capacity building of Parliament to make better laws.
He said the ability of MPs to make better laws hinged greatly on the work of IDRIG and that the Information and Research Department of the House needed a reliable data base system to function.
Mr Joseph Osei Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker, later launched a booklet titled; “French for Parliamentarians Vol.1.”
The booklet is a compilation of words commonly used in the conduct of Parliament and would assist MPs to understand common parliamentary terms in French.
It is also to help Parliamentarians to use French as tool to promote regional cooperation with Ghana’s neighbours, who are mainly Francophone countries.
Source: GNA