Accra, Nov. 18, GNA – Mrs Joyce Bamford-Addo, Speaker of Parliament, on Tuesday
called for a closer collaboration between Parliament and United Nations agencies working in
the country to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. “Though we have over the years chalked some successes in the fields of health, education
and infrastructural development, a lot more still need to be done to meet the requirements of
the MDGs”. Mrs Bamford-Addo made this call when the leadership of Parliament met managers and
representatives of various agencies of the United Nations to map out areas of future
collaboration towards the achievement of Goals. Some of the agencies that attended the programme include World Food Programme
(WFP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Health Organization
(WHO), United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) and International Labour
Organization (ILO). The Speaker said Ghana had advanced in mainstreaming gender issues by promoting more
women to head sensitive entities like Speaker of Parliament, Chief Justice, Vice Chancellor of
a University among others and said with time the disparity that existed between men and
women would be a thing of the past. She said the passage of bills such as National Health Insurance, Whistle Blowers, Financial
Accountability, Disability bills were all positive measures towards the achievement of MDGs. Mr Dauda Toure, Resident Coordinator of UNDP said periodic meetings between the two
houses would enhance the smooth implementation of development programmes that could
move the country from her current position in terms of development. Mr Alban Bagbin, Majority Leader mentioned lacked of office accommodation for
members of parliament and inadequate budgetary allocation as some of the major challenges
that faced the house. “Even some Ministries take more budgetary allocation than Parliament that is bedevilled
with numerous financial constraints,” he noted. 18 Nov. 09
