CSOs undergo 2-day training on effective engagement in legislative and oversight processes of Parliament
By Selorm GBORBIDZI, Accra
As part of efforts to strengthen the relationship and engagement between Parliament and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA) has organised a two-day training programme for selected CSOs on Approaches to Effective Engagement in the Legislative and Oversight Processes of Parliament.
The programme which took place on 14th and 15th March 2024 in Accra, is under the Inclusive Legislatures for Gender-Responsive Policies project, a Global Affairs Canada funded project which is supporting the Parliaments of Ghana, Togo and Kenya to become more gender sensitive and responsive, thereby ensuring the consideration of the differential impacts of policies, laws and budgets on the poorest and most marginalized populations.
The participants were taken through an overview of the government’s commitments to gender equality, along with practical sessions on engaging with Parliament regarding lawmaking and oversight.
The Programmes Manager at ACEPA and the ILGRP Project Officer, Agnes Titriku, explained the importance of the project and the rationale behind organizing such a training session.
She said, “this training is important because there is a global push for gender equality, for building inclusive societies, and one of the main ways we can do that is through the laws we make. Laws are the starting point for everything, so if your laws are deficient in ensuring that all segments of the society are protected, then there is a problem.”
She continued, “the push for gender equality and inclusion, is to make sure that every individual is catered for in legislation, in decision making and in everything that the state is doing on our behalf.”
Mr Issifu Lampo, the lead resource person for the training, explained to The New Finder that a well-informed CSO can be a great partner to the Parliament of Ghana in the formulation of laws, in providing data and analysis that point out to Members of Parliament the implications of the passage of certain laws.
He further explained that the project seeks to create the platform for CSOs to deliberate on strategies for effectively engaging Parliament in the lawmaking and oversight processes, and how CSOs can collaborate with Parliament as allies, to improve efficiency in legislation, oversight of the executive, and overall representation of constituencies by MPs.
Some of the participating CSOs were the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), the Federation of International Women Lawyers (FIDA), Abantu for Development, and women in law and Development Africa (WiLDAF).
