Alban Bagbin of the opposition NDC (they have been in government before and have tasted power on several occasions) was elected speaker of the 8th Parliament of Ghana after a dramatic day in Parliament on January 7th 2021.
This is the wonderful profile of the man who entered Parliament in 1993 at the unveiling of the 4th Republic guided by a newly established Constitution in 1992.
But before we delve in his biography, let’s look at the history of Ghana’s Parliament.
Who is The Speaker of Parliament?
The Speaker is the first officer of the House.
He/She is one of the three great officers of State and he/she ranks third in the official order of precedence after the President and Vice-President.
The office of Speaker was first created in Ghana, then the Gold Coast, in 1949 when the Governor ceased to be ex-officio President of the Legislative Council.
The creation of this office marked a significant step in the history of colonial legislature.
In 1951 the legislature, under the 1950 Constitution, elected its first Ghanaian Speaker, the first African to preside over a British Colonial Legislature.
The Speaker’s ruling cannot be challenged except on a substantive motion.
Behind the scenes the Speaker can exercise moderating influence on both the Majority and Minority to reach consensus in certain matters.
In the heat of debates he/she can cool passions.
It has been said that the Speaker can encourage the downhearted Members; he/she can discourage the over-confident, he/she can offer hope – and suggest outlets – to the frustrated.
The Speaker must not display any trace of partiality; he/she must handle the House with tact, firmness, and fairness.
He must be unusually patient even under provocation.
Two Deputies assist the Speaker.
The Speaker also has an administrative role; he/she is the Chairman of the Parliamentary Service Board and has the over-all responsibility for the administration and management of the Service, which is the employer of all permanent staff.
The Speaker is elected from within or outside Parliament at the beginning of a new Parliament and holds office during the life of that Parliament.
In order to ensure his independence and authority, his salary, allowances, and pension are paid from the Consolidated Fund.
History of Parliament
Ghana achieved independence on March 6, 1957.
The political struggles that preceded this historic event date back over a hundred years ago.
The early period of nationalist struggle for political independence created political awareness and desire to assert the right of self-determination both for the individual and the State.
As far back as 1850, Ghana, then the Gold Coast, was given its own Legislative Council to advise the colonial Governor in enacting legislation mainly in the form of Ordinances “for peace, order and good government of the subject.”
The Legislative Council was purely advisory as the Governor exercised all legislative and executive powers.
In 1916 the Legislative Council was reconstituted to include nine nominated unofficial members, six of whom were Africans.
The first Legislative Council elections ever to be held took place in 1925 under the Guggisberg Constitution. Under this arrangement the Governor still retained complete control of legislation.
Under the 1946 Burns Constitution that replaced the Guggisberg Constitution, the representatives of the people formed the majority in the Legislative Council.
The Governor ceased to be ex-officio President of the Legislative Council, paving the way for an unofficial member to be appointed President.
This system continued until 1951 when the legislature elected its first Speaker under the 1950 Constitution.
In 1951 the first large-scale elections to the Legislative Assembly took place when 75 members were elected.
There were three nominated ex-officio members and six special members representing commercial mining interests.
The 1955 transitional Constitution provided for an Assembly of a Speaker and 104 Members elected on party lines on the basis of universal adult suffrage.
In 1957 when Ghana achieved full political independence, the Constitution was fashioned after the Westminster model.
In June 1960, 10 women were elected by the National Assembly to fill specially created seats. This was done to expose women to parliamentary life.
This system of election was not intended to be permanent.
The Act made no provision in filling a vacancy caused by death, resignation or expulsion of a woman member. On July 1, 1960, Ghana became a sovereign unitary Republic.
In February 1964 Ghana adopted a one-party system of Government.
The first National Assembly of the Republic was dissolved in 1965 and a General Election which comprised 198 members, all of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), were elected unopposed.
The 1964 Constitutional Amendments among other things increased the powers and prerogatives of the President.
In February 1966, the First Republican Government was overthrown by a military coup, which installed a military government that remained in power up to September 1969.
On its own volition, the military administration handed over power to another constitutionally elected government, and thereby restored parliamentary rule once again.
After 22 months in office, the Second parliamentary democracy also succumbed to another military rule between 1972.
In September 1979 the military government was compelled to usher in the Third Republican Parliamentary system.
Parliamentary democracy was once thrown into cold storage as a result of yet another military intervention in December 1981.
However, the country returned to constitutional rule again on January 7, 1993, with 200 members.
Constitutional rule has survived a third term.
The Fourth Parliament of the Fourth Republic has 230 members.
The Mace, the symbol of Parliament’s authority
The Mace, the symbol of authority of Parliament, is entrusted to the Speaker.
The daily Speaker’s procession into the Chamber is led by the Marshal with the Mace signifying the ceremonial opening of each Sitting day in the House.
The Marshal carries the Mace on his right shoulder and then places it in a special holder in front of the Clerk’s Table where it remains throughout the Sitting as a symbol of the authority of Parliament.
When the Speaker is in the Chair, the Mace stands upright or perpendicular indicating the formal proceedings in the House.
However, during the Consideration Stage of a Bill, the Mace is tilted towards the Chair indicating the informal nature of the proceedings.
At this stage, the rules of debate are relaxed and Members can speak more than once to any question from the Chair.
At the State Opening of Parliament, the President and Parliament come together to fulfil a constitutional function.
On that occasion, during the presence of the President in the House the State Sword, usually regarded as the symbol of authority of the President, takes the place of the Mace.
The present Mace of Parliament was made when Ghana became a Republic in 1960.
The upright position of the Mace in the Chamber may be likened to a linguist’s staff of office; it also gives prominence to the head of the Mace, which is the eagle, the country’s heraldic bird.
The shaft of the Mace has six traditional stools symbolizing the common sharing of responsibility, the presence of God in the society, lasting personality, prosperity, and presence and effect of feminine power in the society and pride.
The design of the Ghana Mace is made up of various Ghana traditional symbols.
The Adinkra symbols embossed between the stools denote the Omnipotence of God, critical examination, strength, immortality, and justice.
THE FLYING EAGLE – symbolising the State of Ghana.
“KONTONKUROWI” – symbol of the common sharing of responsibility.
“NYAMEDUA” – a stool symbol of the presence of God in society.
“HWEMDUA” – symbol of critical examination.
“GYE-NYAME” – (except God), a symbol of the omnipotence of God.
“KUDU-PONO” – a symbol of lasting personality.
“MBAADWA” – a symbol of the presence and effect of feminine power
in society.
“DWANIMMEN” – a symbol of manly strength.
“HYE-WO-NHYE – (burnt but unburnt), symbol of imperishability.
“BI-NKA-BI” – (no one bites another), symbol of justice.
“KUNTUN-KANTAN” – (bent only to straighten), symbol of the pride of
State.
Biography of Alban Bagbin
Born on September 24, 1957, at Sombo in the Upper West Region, Hon. Bagbin is a graduate of the University of Ghana (1977-1980) and the Ghana School of Law (1980 -1982).
He holds an Executive Masters in Governance and Leadership from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).
The MP for Nadowli Kaleo and former Majority Leader started schooling at an early age at the Roman Catholic Primary School, Sombo, did his second cycle education at Wa Secondary School and ended at the Tamale Secondary School, where he earned his Ordinary Level and Advanced Level certificates before entering the University of Ghana in 1977.
From 1980 to 1982, he worked at the Bureau of Statistics and Statistical Service as the acting Secretary to the Statistical Service Board while between 1982 and 1983; he worked as Personnel Manager of the erstwhile State Hotels Corporation.
Mr. Bagbin practiced as private legal practitioner in the Akyem Chambers, a firm of legal practitioners, consultants and notaries public, as a partner.
He is currently the longest serving a member of parliament, having served since 1993 when the first parliament under the 4th Republic was inaugurated.
He has held a number of positions in Parliament since 1994 and capped his law making career with the ultimate, the Majority Leader and Leader of the House.
In the first Parliament of the Fourth Republic, he was made the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Subsidiary Legislation and Vice Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Mines and Energy and Member of the Committee on Local Government and Rural Development.
In the Second Parliament of the Fourth Republic, Mr. Bagbin was the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs with oversight responsibilities for the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Electoral Commission, National Commission on Civic Education, Office of Parliament and Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
He was also the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee from 2001 to 2005.
He was also the Vice-Chairman of the Appointments Committee of Parliament.
He did not run again for Parliament in the 2020 elections.
Past History of Speakers of Parliament: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_of_the_Parliament_of_Ghana
Accra, GHANA: TO GO WITH AFP STORIES GHANA-INDEPENDENCE-ANNIVERSARY (FILES) Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, newly installed first President of the Republic of Ghana, speaks at the parliament in Accra, 08 July 1960. Ghana, the first black African country to shake off the chains of British rule, celebrates the 50th anniversary of its independence 06 March 2007. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)
