9th Parliament will suffer from the high attrition rate – Local Governance Expert

A local governance expert, Frederick Agyarko Oduro, has raised concerns about the high attrition rate, stating that government will face challenges.

With 120 new members, representing a whopping 43% of the parliament, Agyarko Oduro is worried that the loss of experienced MPs will hinder the parliament’s efficiency.

He suggests that additional training for the new entrants could help mitigate this issue and get them up to speed on parliamentary business.

The NDC currently holds a majority in parliament with 183 elected members and is expected to be joined by 4 independent members, bringing their total to 187, giving them a significant lead over the NPP, which has 88 seats.

The size of the NDC majority raises concerns about parliament possibly becoming a rubber stamp for the government.

Commenting on this on GBC News, Mr. Agyarko Oduro said the narrative is a sharp contrast to reality. He, however, called for constitutional reforms to prevent members of parliament from assuming executive roles.

“I would wish that there is a reform in our constitution to prevent members of parliament from assuming executive roles. It will at least reduce the absenteeism in parliament while enhancing parliamentary business,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Agyarko Oduro commented on the number of female representations in parliament, saying that the percentage is not encouraging. According to him, much effort could have been made to increase the number of females in parliament in order to meet the global gender standard.

He says he expects more female appointments into certain government roles and institutions to give women more voices for the beauty of Ghana’s democracy.