From ‘a rubber stamp’ to influencing policy

Abstract

Parliamentary committees have often been described as the pivot around which the work of Parliament revolves. Despite the important roles of committees in the legislative landscape, their effectiveness, particularly in African parliaments, has been questioned. Ghana’s Parliament and its committees have long been described as a ‘rubber stamp’ with little or no policy-making powers. While this description remains a dominant view, it fails to recognize the intricacies of policy-making and the legislative process, including the stage at which committees can influence policy and legislative outcomes in Ghana. Having attained some level of institutionalization after more than two decades of democratization, can the committee system in Ghana’s Parliament wield some influence on the policy-making process? This paper evaluates the role of committees in policy-making in Ghana. It presents evidence to show that on various counts, the committees of Parliament are far more influential in the policy-making process than is commonly assumed. It explores the stages of the legislative process and discusses ways through which committees influence policy in Ghana.