• The Speaker of Parliament has called on Members of the House not to absent themselves in the second meeting of the 8th Parliament

• He said the second meeting of the 8th Parliament will pass some bills and all members must be present to achieve that

• He also urged members to reflect on the theme for this year’s African Union Day celebration which is “Arts, culture, and heritage: Levers for building the Africa we want”

The Speaker of Parliament Rt Hon Alban Bagbin has urged Members of Parliament to desist from being absent as it is their core mandate to be present to formulate policies that can help in the development of the nation.

According to the Speaker, the habit of Members being absent all the time affects productivity since the house is unable to reach a consensus before the close of the business day.

“Please the honeymoon period is over, we are in the operational period now and we will start to enforce the rules. Honourable members it is true, like medical practitioners, there is no rest for an MP,” he said.

This second meeting according to Speaker Bagbin will also consider, the Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2020, the Ghana Standards Authority Bill, the Exemption Bill, the Consumer Protection Bill, the Petroleum Revenue Management (Amendment) Bill, and the Advertising Council Bill.

The Speaker also charged the House to reflect on the theme for this year’s African Union Day celebration which is “Arts, culture, and heritage: Levers for building the Africa we want.”

According to Mr Bagbin, the theme is meant to focus on the celebration of the day to reflect on how Africa could leverage the infinite resources of creative arts, culture, and the proud heritage to drive development for the continent and its people.