Ghana's Parliament will on Monday, November 20, 2023, partner STAR-Ghana Foundation to organise a breakfast forum to commemorate 30 years of uninterrupted parliamentary democracy under the Fourth Republic. The event, which would coincide with the fifth anniversary of the STAR-Ghana Foundation, is in recognition of the need for more effective engagement with the public and wider participation in the work of Parliament, having been ranked first in Africa. A press release by Mr David Sebastian Damoah, Director of Media Relations, Parliament, said about 150 participants from Parliament, Civil Society Organisations, Think Tanks, Trade Unions, and the media, among others would attend the forum. The forum, dubbed: 'Thirty Years of Parliamentary Democracy under the Fourth Republic: Reflection on citizens engagement and the way forward', would have Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford, the Speaker, deliver the keynote address whilst guest speakers would be Professor Akosua Darkwah, University of Ghana and Dr Rasheed Draman, Africa Centre for Parliamentary Studies, the press release said. It said the Speaker's breakfast forum was to consolidate the relationship between Parliament and CSOs by exploring new ways of working together for accountable governance. It said for more public participation in the work of Parliament, it would set up a 'Citizens' Bureau,' within Parliamentary Service to institutionalise Parliament-citizens' engagement through partnerships with the media, CSOs and think tanks. The Bureau, the release said would develop and maintain a database of CSOs with the opportunity to easily share information and research findings with Parliament whilst accessing relevant information from Parliament to support their work. It said such engagements would reduce the misunderstanding between Parliament and the public as well as serve as an early warning signal to the elected representatives of the people on vexed issues for early resolution. Source: Ghana News Agency Finance Minister Sihem Boughdiri has stressed that the committees in charge of auditing the recruitment of civil servants are currently carrying out their duties, adding that it is too early to measure the results. Boughdiri was responding on behalf of Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani to MPs' speeches during the general debate on the draft state budget and the draft finance law for 2024 on Saturday. She pointed out that the Prime Minister has signed 26 mission orders to audit the recruitment of civil servants, adding that he regularly monitors the work of committees tasked with cleaning up the administration and public institutions. The results of the audit should be commensurate with the work of these committees, she added. In response to a question about the "Fidaa" Foundation, the Minister pointed out that this foundation is fully prepared to provide the necessary assistance to the families of martyrs of security and military institutions. At the end of the morning's plenary session, which was devoted to the government's replies to the MPs' speeches, Speaker of the House of People's Representatives (ARP), Brahim Bouderbala, stressed the importance of these plenary sessions in promoting the legislative and oversight role of the elected representatives of the people. The MPs reaffirmed their desire to work with the executive to meet the aspirations of Tunisians, he said. Bouderbala also announced that, as of the next session, Parliament will review the budgets allocated to institutions and ministries as part of the 2024 state budget. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse