US Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs. Stephanie Sullivan, has congratulated the Appointments Committee of Parliament for the conduct of its business during the vetting of ministerial nominees.

According to her, the process sent a strong signal that Parliament’s work will not be business as usual and that Parliament now takes its scrutiny duties very seriously.

Mrs. Sullivan was speaking on Wednesday when she called on the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin to congratulate him on his ascension to the high office of Speakership.

The two spoke about a number of key issues pertaining to the development of their respective countries. Conversations were also centered on health, agriculture and environmental issues.

Mrs. Stephanie Sullivan also spoke about the need for strong trade relations, referring to an earlier statement made by the Majority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu which stressed the need to strengthen the private sector since it is the engine of growth.

Speaker Bagbin expressed gratitude for the good relations between Ghana and the United States and made reference to the fragility of Ghana’s democracy, saying that a look at the country’s political make-up points to the fact that Ghanaians are no longer interested in partisan politics and that they expect the two main political parties to put the interest of the country first and to collaborate more for the ultimate good of the country.

The Speaker also emphasised the fact that accountability is a key ingredient for Ghana’s progress and urged the political class to be mindful of this.

Speaking also about the need to strengthen the institutional capacity of the legislative branch of government, Mr. Bagbin added that there is need for MPs to be given offices and personnel in their constituencies for ease of consultation and work in the constituencies.

Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu spoke about benefits of the many knowledge exchange programmes between the two countries and emphasized the need for improved trade relations and a further strengthening of the private sector since it is the engine of growth for any economy.

Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu spoke about the indicators used for measuring child labour and child trafficking which shows Ghana in a bad light and urged the US to posit the phenomenon in its proper context, saying that by our culture, Ghanaian children do assist their parents and relatives in their economic endeavours and this, by no means has anything to do with child labour.

Haruna Iddrisu also spoke about the menace of money laundering and called on the US to help state institutions to block illicit transfer of funds. He also mentioned the need to make state institutions more responsive to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Speaker was assisted by the Second Deputy Speaker, the two Leaders of the House and two Deputy Whips as well as the Clerk to Parliament and some staff of the Parliamentary Service.
Mrs. Stephanie Sullivan, US Ambassador to Ghana and Alban Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament in a tete a tete.