Cherish your voting rights - Lydia Alhassan to youth
The Second Deputy Majority Chief Whip of Parliament, Lydia Seyram Alhassan, has urged the youth to cherish their voting rights and not trade it for anything.
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She said any attempt by the youth to trade their civic responsibility amounted to mortgaging their future which would come back to haunt them.
"The future of this country is in your hands, don't joke with it.
From today, make it a point to contribute in deciding who governs you.
Don't leave your future in the hands of a few bourgeois," Ms Alhassan told the Political Science Students' Association of the University of Ghana, Legon, during an educational forum in Parliament House yesterday.
The forum was to bring the students up to speed on the workings of the House while giving them the opportunity to ask questions, especially on the work of the committees.
The forum was organised by the Department of Public Engagement of Parliament.
Ms Alhassan, who is also the New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayawaso West Wuogon, which includes Legon, said despite the apparent harsh economic conditions, the youth, especially the students, should not consider monetary consideration ahead of competence.
"At your level and more so being Political Science students, you are better placed to understand and appreciate government policies than the ordinary voter.
"Please, value your future.
Don't just vote anyhow, be guided and vote based on policies and information. Don't be deceived," she added.
On the MPs District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), Ms Alhassan said it was one of the main sources of funds for MPs.
She said the 1992 Constitution had created the DACF to transfer financial resources from the central government to the local government.
The allocation was made to help MPs directly address developmental challenges in their districts.
However, she insisted MPs did not have control.
"At best, we, together with our team, make suggestions in projects we think would be helpful to the people.
The money is not given to us directly as some people suggest,” she said.
Murtala
Contributing at the forum, the National Democratic Congress MP for Tamale Central, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, seized the opportunity to correct the negative impression that only MPs who spoke on the floor were active.
Work of Parliament
He said the main work of Parliament was at the committee level.
"It is possible to see a very competent and an expert in a particular field shaping policy at the committee level yet hardly speaks on the floor of the House.
"Would you then say such a person is not working simply because his voice is not heard on the floor or don't speak to issues on radio or TV?" the MP who is also a PhD candidate at the Political Science Department of the university said.
The Senior Assistant Clerk, Committees Office, Dr Ernest Daffour, and the Deputy Director, Public Engagement of Parliament, Margaret Donkor, took the students through the functions of Parliament and the work of the committees.
