At the commencement of parliamentary sitting on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, the House implemented the new Standing Orders, which include a roll call of all Members of Parliament (MPs) at the beginning of every sitting, each day after prayers.

Additionally, the National Pledge of Ghana – ‘I promise on my honour, to be faithful and loyal to Ghana my motherland’ – will be recited at the commencement of each sitting every week.

Aside from the above, some other amendments have been made, including the division of the Finance Committee, which had 25 members, into three: the Committee on Economy, the Committee on Finance, and the Committee on Planning.

The Committee on Economy will deal with matters of the economy, the Finance Committee will focus on finance, and the Committee on Planning will focus on planning, and so on.

The Committee of Defence and Interior has also been divided.

After the roll call of MPs who were present in the House, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, said, “Order 69 enjoins the house to recite the National Pledge at the first sitting of every week of a meeting.

"Honourable members, we shall now proceed to recite the National Pledge which is set out in the 4th schedule of the Standing Orders and is on page 163."

After the Speaker’s remarks, the MPs rose up to their feet, with their right hands to their chest, and passionately recited the “‘I promise on my honour, to be faithful and loyal to Ghana my motherland.”

Watch the MPs recite the pledge in the video below:

Pursuant to standing order 69, the national pledge will be recited once a week. #GhParliament pic.twitter.com/gvRCABQdKl

— Odekro (@odekro) February 6, 2024