A new report by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) shows that majority of Ghanaian voters want Members of Parliament who have tertiary education.
According to the voters, the education level of their parliamentarians of great priority to them.
The report was based on a survey conducted by the Institute between November and December 2015 across all 10 regions of the country.
83.7 percent of respondents said the education level of their Members of Parliament was most important to them.
The 1992 Constitution is loudly silent on the level of education one must attain before contesting to be a Member of Parliament.
In recent years, many have had cause to worry about the kind of arguments and submissions made by some Members of Parliament on the floor of the House.
It is believed that the lack of confidence to express one’s self on the floor of Parliament and the lack of understanding of issues discussed has caused some MPs to remain silent throughout debates.
Some have said that the lack of tertiary education by some MPs is affecting the work of the House.
Director of Advocacy and Programmes at the IEA, Dr. Frankie Asare Donkor in an interview with Citi Newssaid the majority of Ghanaians are worried their MPs do not speak in Parliament.
He said, “With such background [tertiary education], it prepares one to be able to deal with issues in a better way. You can understand and analyse things better. Those who do not speak in parliament, our observation is that they lack the ability to speak the kind of language expected of parliamentarians and they haven’t on their own been able to think of issues seriously and critically to make contributions in Parliament.”
A recent report by a civil society organization focused on activities of the legislature, Odekro, identified 19 members of Parliament who had not made any comment on the floor of the house throughout the 4-year sitting of the 6th Parliament.
Ghanaians prefer MPs with tertiary education
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