Having identified institutional weakness as a common phenomenon in Ghana, the IEA has designed strategies to build and strengthen the institutional capacity of key governance institutions to enable them play their proper roles in the strengthening of democracy and constitutionalism. Among beneficiaries of the capacity-building workshops and programs are Parliament, District Assemblies and MPs, the media, Judiciary and civil society groups.
The IEA has developed a number of strategic interventions in relation to the Legislature including:
- Legislative Assistants Programme: The IEA recruited and trained research assistants to provide support to the MPs in their functions within the legislature. Parliament has formalized the research assistants, with some working at the office of the Clerk of Parliament.
- Technical Workshops: Committees of Parliament were provided with critical information on the policy implications of Bills and Contracts before the house. Training was also offered to members of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament to enhance their role as watchdogs of the public purse.
- Speakers Breakfast Forum: Under the aegis of the Speaker of Parliament, the forum brings together civil society activists, opinion leaders and the leadership of Parliament to engage in public discourse
- Orientation Workshops: MPs are taken through orientation programmes to empower them to appreciate the provisions of the 1992 Constitution, the Standing Orders and Procedures of Parliament. The activity has been formalized and institutionalized by Parliament, with MPs undergoing regular orientation programs.
Achievements in this area have included:
- Formation and training of National Domestic Observers (NADEO) in 1996; the first election observer body to be established in Ghana.
- Developing a manual on Women’s participation in politics and governance, aimed at increasing women’s presence in politics and demanding a percentage.