By Fatia Ndirangwa
The Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Mathias Mpuuga is headed to Ghana with members of the Shadow Cabinet to benchmark the workings of the Ghanaian Opposition.
According to the Shadow Minister for Information and Anti-Corruption, Joyce Bagala, the week-long benchmarking trip will equip the opposition leaders with different skills and how to become a credible government in waiting.
“We will be meeting with the Speaker of Parliament of Ghana and the deputy Speaker and clerk and many other officials .We will also be following the proceedings in the Parliament but also we will also be meeting with the deputy clerk on a number of issues including how opposition members can influence and dominate parliamentary business, ”said Bagala.
She explained that they will also visit the Parliamentary Training Institute in Ghana and meet with a number of officials on how to be effective opposition members of parliament and also find out on the efficient and effective ways of holding the government accountable.
“You know that many of our members are new but there are so many things that we have learnt and there are so many things that we are yet to learn .It is going to be a good thing for us to go on this trip .The team is headed by the leader of opposition in Parliament, ”she noted.
Bagala noted in a statement that the choice for Ghana was based on the West African country’s being a model for building democracy in Africa.
“Ghana being model for democracy especially here in Africa,i think it is very important for us as the opposition to benchmark on how they actually handle their business .We have seen Ghana changing leadership from one leader to another, ”she said.
Key areas of focus are how the Opposition can keep the government in check and how to build a credible and efficient government in waiting.
“The way they elect their Speaker .You will find that they could have a speaker who is an opposition member in Parliament, so it is something that we think we can learn from, ”she said.
