The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has said a formal request has been forwarded to the Executive to acquire a parcel of land near the State House to construct a new facility to enable the Legislature establish its own dedicated facility.
Speaking at the launch of Parliament’s Corporate Strategic Plan for 2026–2030 on Thursday, February 12, Mr. Bagbin expressed concern that Parliament continues to operate as a tenant within the State House complex — a situation he described as limiting and inappropriate for an independent arm of government.
“We have been crying, and I hope you will support us so that at least we should be liberated from being tenants of the State House to our own premises as an arm of government,” he said.
According to him, infrastructural constraints within the current setup affect the efficiency of parliamentary proceedings, particularly during critical decision-making processes.
“There are a lot of limitations, infrastructural limitations. It has not been easy, even when we are about to make a decision, especially when there is no consensus. You have to rely on the human resources,” he noted.
The Speaker disclosed that Parliament is piloting an electronic voting (e-voting) system to enhance decision-making and reduce operational challenges in the House.
“Now we are trying to put in place where we can have e-voting in Parliament, so we are starting with the pilot, and we believe that it will ease all the struggles when it comes to decision-making in the House,” he said.
Mr. Bagbin acknowledged efforts made to modernise and improve existing facilities but maintained that the current infrastructure remains inadequate for the needs of the Legislature.
“We have also done a lot in trying to modernise, and improve the small facilities that we have. But we plead with the Executive to release the parcel of land around here for us to develop. We need to have a permanent seat for the pillar of democracy to be housed, a Parliament House,” he stressed.
He further revealed that some facilities within the State House complex are not readily accessible to Parliament unless payment is made.
“Some of the structures we have here, we cannot even have access to them unless we pay, including the banquet hall,” he added.
The call for a permanent Parliamentary complex revives a long-standing debate. In 2019, the then New Patriotic Party (NPP) government proposed the construction of a new parliamentary chamber.
The proposal sparked widespread public backlash and opposition from the Minority and civil society groups, culminating in the #DropTheChamber protest.
Amid mounting public pressure at the time, Parliament suspended plans to proceed with the construction of the new chamber.
