That, he said, would give Parliament a lot of respect in the country.

The Speaker made the call at a capacity-building workshop for members of the Forum for Former Members of Parliament (FMPs) in Accra last Wednesday.

The conference brought together former MPs from the Third and Fourth Republics, and afforded them the opportunity to interact with one another.

Politicians first

Prof. Oquaye asked MPs to consider their welfare as politicians first before their allegiance to their political parties.

That, he said, would enable them to relate well with one another and promote their collective interests.

"We are at each other's throat; by the time we are out, we would realise we did not contribute to our own welfare," he said.

Former MPs' situation

The Speaker expressed worry at the situation of former MPs as some of them could not even afford to use their own private vehicles now.

He attributed the situation to the not-too-good conditions of service of MPs.

For instance, he said chief directors in the civil service were entitled to 4x4 vehicles while MPs would have to take loans to buy their own vehicles.

Prof. Oquaye said unfortunately, the public had the impression that MPs were 'chopping' money.

He, therefore, urged sitting and former MPs to educate the public on the conditions of service of MPs to earn their understanding.

Programmes for former MPs

Prof. Oquaye said there was no democracy without the presence and work of legislators, saying: "If Parliament sits, the whole country sits."

Therefore, he added: "People like you (former MPs) cannot vanish in oblivion or retire in poverty."

As a mitigating measure, Prof. Oquaye said the Parliamentary Service Board had approved the establishment of a mini- hospital for legislators.

He said the board had also given approval for former MPs and their spouses to receive medical service at the mini-hospital.

He added that he would also advocate the need for selected members of the FMPs to be ex-officio members of the Parliamentary Service Board to share their rich experience for the good of the country.

Alban Bagbin

The First Deputy Speaker, Mr Alban Bagbin, said it was disturbing that MPs in the Third Republic and pioneer MPs in the early part of the Fourth Republic were not properly settled after leaving Parliament.

He said the current Speaker of Parliament was building on the foundation started by the previous Speaker, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, to address the concerns of the former legislators.

Former MPs

The President of the FMPs, Mr Kosi Kedem, called for the establishment of a viable pension scheme for sitting and former MPs.

He suggested that MPs be made to retire on their salary to cater for their financial needs on retirement.

Mr Kedem called for the provision of service passports to former MPs to make their movements easier.

He again proposed that former MPs be given political appointments to serve on boards no matter their political affiliations.