The Ghanaian press on Friday focuses on the controversy over the
announcement that the Parliament intends to construct a new chamber
to enable it accommodate ministers of state scheduled to brief the house.
The Ghanaian Times says some pressure groups have rejected the idea, but the
Majority Leader in Parliament, Mr. Osei Keyei Mensah-Bonsu, has allayed the fears
of the public.
The Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) and Occupy Ghana, both policy
think-tanks in Ghana, have described the proposed construction of a new chamber
for the Parliament as misplaced.
They expressed their sentiments through separate press statements on the agenda
by the Parliament to construct a new $200 million chamber with expanded facilities.
They were of the view that the project would short change Ghanaians due to the fact
that huge sums of money would go into less important projects.
But the Majority Leader, Mensah-Bonsu, explained that it would ensure
adequate provision for the number of lawmakers, who would be elected
after the 2016 elections.
“The expansion and refurnishing of the legislative chamber to accommodate the
increase in the number of parliamentarians, following the creation of new
constituencies in the 2012 general elections,” he added.
The Daily Graphic, for its part, says the Supreme Court has declared that it was
unconstitutional for government to put a ceiling on funds allocated to the District
Assemblies Common Fund.
DAP/GIK/APA