*"You Deserve Better" - Clerk  Backs Press Corps on Workspace, Says "Drop That Chamber" Campaign Obscured Real Infrastructure Deficit*

The Parliamentary Press Corps' long-standing demand for better working conditions has received strong backing from leadership on both sides of the House, as clerk of Parliament Mr Ebenezer Ahumah Djetro admitted that Ghana's Parliament lacks adequate facilities to function effectively.

Speaking at a workshop for the Press Corps, the clerk said he expects the media to play a critical role in re-examining the country's parliamentary infrastructure needs, referencing the controversial "Drop That Chamber" campaign that halted plans for a new chamber.

"You remember the Drop That Chamber business. The thing became legitimate," he said, adding that the challenge of workspace affects both MPs and journalists.

"You deserve better. Majority Leader agrees with me. Minority Leader agrees with me and indeed all Members of Parliament agree," he told journalists.

He lamented that Parliament does not have a chamber with complementing facilities such as sufficient workspaces, meeting areas, division rooms, Ministers' lobbies and caucus lobbies.

He cited the situation at Job 600, where meeting rooms cannot seat more than 30 to 35 people, making it impossible for a caucus of 100 members to meet physically unless some resort to virtual participation.

"Look at the Majority Caucus where in Job 600 would you have space to meet? And yet you are supposed to meet as a caucus. It is part of the rules of engagement," he said.

He warned that the deficit will be more pronounced as Parliament begins consideration of the Budget, with committees required to summon Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for scrutiny.

"Assuming an agency decides to produce maybe just four people — Chief Executive, Deputy, Legal, Finance, Budget — that's already about six. If you have ten agencies or twenty agencies, and some have as many as thirty, if you multiply six or four by thirty, how many are you talking about? Look at our workspace," he said.

He said Parliament intends to expose journalists to practices in other jurisdictions so they appreciate how modern parliaments are structured to support legislative work.

He said Speaker Alban Bagbin has also consistently championed the need for improved parliamentary facilities.

Report filed by PKB