The Minority in Parliament has called for a comprehensive overhaul of capacity-building programmes for Members of Parliament and staff of the Parliamentary Service, citing the growing complexity of legislative work.
Speaking on behalf of the Minority Leader at the inaugural meeting of the Network of Parliamentary Training Institutes on Monday, March 23, the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, stressed the need to modernise training frameworks to reflect evolving global trends.
“For this network to succeed, three conditions must be met. First, there must be sustained investment. Second, there must be relevance. The world is changing, and our training must change with it by incorporating digital governance, data literacy, climate policy, and inclusive representation,” he said.
Meanwhile, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga urged a broader approach to capacity building, arguing that training efforts should extend beyond MPs and parliamentary staff to include the wider legislative ecosystem.
According to him, strengthening the knowledge and skills of all actors within the parliamentary process is critical to improving governance outcomes.
“The members of Parliament are supposed to understand the work that they are supposed to do, what their mandates are and how to relate to their parliamentarians and their national Parliament. It is this ecosystem that parliamentary training institutes must focus on, and not just the institution of Parliament alone,” he stated.
However, the First Deputy Speaker, Bernard Ahiafor, speaking on behalf of the Speaker of Parliament, urged participants to commit to concrete actions that will strengthen parliamentary institutions.
