MPs to select research assistants

... Hmm... for the lovers of truth and objectivity, this carries a dangerous foreboding. Science and Truth manufactured in a pot. ... I am a very strong believer in the crucial role of research in the development of Africa. I do think that our tertiary students should be engaged in applied research - not just to solve problems and to understand and better manage the various phenomena that engulf us daily, but to contribute to the body of knowledge that exists.

In an age where we seek to quantify all things, and we allow the mere recitation of numbers to confer a certain importance, irrefutability, objectivity and truth to the issue in question, I worry about this Research Assistant story.

Yes, by all means, let's engage our junior scholars in research. When we start raising issues of loyalty and confidentiality, and so request that MPs appoint/select their own RAs, then we are heading for trouble. We may be heading into a zone where numbers are interpreted through very political and partisan lenses, where loyalty can mean covering up the sins of the emperor, and can mean the downright insulting of our corporate and individual quests for knowledge and truth as human beings.

An alternative would be to hire RAs based on industry/sector/area, to furnish information to anyone in the government (executive/legislature/judiciary) and to the outside world, with the same, consistent empirical information that can be used in decision making. This way, we actually have the opportunity to generate intellectual resources to aid us in policymaking and development planning. Having issue-focused RAs also means we do not have to get 230 of them to match the number of MPs!!! Is this 'jobs for the boys and girls' since the hiring freeze in the civil service? It seems to be a way for getting gofers and personal assistants for MPs.

And please, somebody tell me ... how is this supposed to improve governance? ... Why can't we set up a non-partisan national research institute that can house senior and junior scholars across disciplines, to help in whatever endeavour this is, and avoid partisanship? Why don't we as a nation support research coming out of our institutions of higher learning?

Come on now! ... let's not toy around with something this serious, and insult the intelligence of Ghanaians. I do feel insulted. ... I have much more to say, but this will suffice. Other duties call. ... more coming from whence this cometh ...

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Read the story for yourself...
Directly Quoted from www.myjoyonline.com
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Members of Parliament have until the end of this month to choose some 230 graduates from the nation’s tertiary institutions to act as research assistants.

The initiative is part of President Mills’ pledge to assist the legislature in carrying out its constitutional mandate more effectively.

The Executive Director of the National Service Board, Vincent Senam Kuagbenu in an interview with Joy News hinted that the MPs have the right to choose relatives or people from their constituencies, but added the board is yet to take a firm decision on the modalities.

“The MPs should know the person and trust that he is able to do his work for him and keep some level of confidence in his research person,” he explained.

The minority leader Osei-Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, though in favour of the president’s initiative, lamented the absence of an office space to house the research assistants.

Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesperson Mahama Ayariga has supported moves to have relatives and close associates of Members of Parliament appointed for the position.

"Whether it is a relative, whether it is somebody from his constituency or whether it is any other person, i believe that there must basic criteria which must be met."

"We cannot discriminate against a relative on the basis of such people being relatives, he added.

He said the MPs need to be comfortable with the assistants who will work for them.

He reiterated government’s commitment to strengthening the legislature, saying the president is ready to increase budgetary allocation to ensure the speedy implementation of the research initiative.

Mahama Ayariga suggested the erstwhile Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to be used as a new office block for the research assistants.

Ayariga advised the leadership of the House to consult the Works and Housing Ministry for the release of the office space.

He said the presence of the research assistants will in no small way improve the performance of parliamentarians.

Listen to excerpts of the interview with Mahama Ayariga in the attached audio.


Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana