A seven member delegation of the Ghana Catholic Bishop Conference, has called on the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, to congratulate him on his assumption of office as Speaker of the 8th Parliament of the 4th Republic of Ghana. The visit was also to invite the Speaker and his two Deputies who are both Catholics, to the Catholic Plenary Assembly in May.
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast who is also the Vice President of the Catholic Bishops Conference, Arch Bishop Charles Palmer Buckle, in a submission at the visit, said he was looking forward to a Memorandum of Understanding on a partnership between the Church and the State on education. He also made reference to the Catholic University College and requested the Speaker’s assistance to enable the University which is already twelve years, to acquire a charter.
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Arch Bishop Palmer Buckle also made reference to the Comprehensive Sexuality Education and said the ideology behind it is against African and Ghanaian cultures and must therefore be discouraged.
The Speaker of the 8th Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban SK Bagbin said his election as Speaker was by divine intervention and said it was God’s way of telling Ghanaians that the time had come for politicians to be held more accountable for their stewardship and to be more responsive to their Constituents.
Speaker Bagbin added that while he does not intend to be a stumbling block to government business, he intends to lead Parliament to scrutinise laws and instruments from the Executive for the ultimate good of the country and for the national interest to prevail.
The Speaker also made reference to the Committees of the 8th Parliament and said there will be changes in the formation and numbers of the Committees to reflect the objective of Parliament to ensure that Committees reflect specialised subject areas that are focused and manageable by the Committees. This is to optimise the effort and output of the Members and Parliament as a whole.
The delegation was led by the President of the Catholic Bishop Conference and Bishop of Tamale, Most Reverend Philip Naameh.