KEY POINTS
- A comprehensive healthcare support plan has been urged for Ghana’s MPs.
- Parliament faces long hours and rising health risks.
- The Speaker and Minority Leader back urgent health reforms.
Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, is calling for a national conversation on a comprehensive healthcare support program for lawmakers, citing the growing physical toll of parliamentary duties.
In remarks delivered on his behalf at the closing of Parliament’s second session, Bagbin said MPs face intense pressures that often go overlooked—including sitting beyond midnight and enduring relentless legislative workloads.
Healthcare support for lawmakers takes center stage
Bagbin stressed that Parliament must initiate formal discussions on the matter, describing it as urgent and long overdue.
“Our work comes with high physical and emotional demands,” he said through First Deputy Speaker Benard Ahiafor. “We must begin earnest discussions on a program tailored to the pressures we face.”
Comprehensive healthcare support gains more backing
The Speaker’s remarks come in the wake of MP Ernest Yaw Kumi’s sudden death, just seven months into his first term. However, postmortem findings indicated heart failure, echoing a worrying pattern among lawmakers in recent years.
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin backed the Speaker’s appeal, urging colleagues to prioritize medical checkups during the parliamentary recess. “Your lives matter,” he told his peers.
Parliamentarians are officially expected to work five-hour days but often sit for more than 10 hours, especially during critical legislative deadlines. In March, MPs worked until 3 a.m. to pass the Ghana Gold Board Bill.
The session closes after 43 sittings and 8 bills
During the 10-week session, the House held 43 sittings, passed 8 out of 13 bills, and vetted 11 ministerial and judicial nominees, Bagbin noted.
He praised both sides of the House for their cooperation and commended his deputies, parliamentary staff, and press corps for sustaining operations in his absence.
Among major legislative wins were the Fisheries and Aquaculture Bill, the Social Protection Bill, and amendments to laws governing energy, education, and holidays.
Furthermore, Bagbin encouraged MPs to use the recess to reconnect with constituents, perform field oversight, and deepen parliamentary democracy.
The House has now adjourned sine die—indefinitely.
