African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs- ACEPA

13/08/2026

13/08/2026

𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙨-𝘽𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙋𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩?

Staff of the Public Engagement Department of the Parliament of Ghana recently came together for a productive working session to review a draft Outreach Framework and ensure that it reflects the realities, needs and mandate of the Department.

The discussions generated valuable recommendations, including the need to:

- Include risk assessment, mitigation and management measures.
- Tailor engagement approaches and messages to the unique needs and realities of each community.
- Put in place effective follow-up mechanisms to obtain constructive and actionable feedback.
- Strengthen reporting before, during and after every outreach activity.
- Recognise In-person, Virtual and Hybrid outreach as complementary approaches.
- Capture institutional knowledge to support continuity and succession planning.

One important lesson stood out: what works in one community may not necessarily work in another. Effective public engagement requires listening, understanding the context, and using the right message and approach to achieve the desired results.

The session was a timely opportunity to strengthen the Framework so that it becomes a practical tool for planning, implementing, monitoring and learning from outreach activities.

We are grateful to Canada’s International Development – Global Affairs Canada for funding the Inclusive Legislatures for Gender-Responsive Policies, jointly implemented by the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs- ACEPA, and the Parliamentary Centre.

12/08/2026

𝑯𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝑫𝒂𝒚!

Today, we celebrate young people and the energy, ideas and perspectives they bring to our societies. With over 1.2 billion young people aged 15–24 globally, meaningful youth participation in governance is essential.

We entreat governments to create more opportunities and initiatives that empower young people, support their development and give them a meaningful voice in decisions that affect their future.

Through initiatives like , the Centre for Parliamentary Affairs- ACEPA is contributing to this effort by engaging young people to better understand Parliament, governance and civic participation.

12/08/2026

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑨𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑹𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚.

As part of their oversight function, the Gender, Children and Social Welfare Parliamentary Committee of the Parliament of Ghana joined the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs- ACEPA for a field monitoring exercise in the Jasikan District that brought together Members of Parliament, officers of the District Assembly, and community members from Kute township.

The exercise provided an opportunity for community members to use the Community Scorecard tool to assess key issues affecting the agriculture sector, share their experiences, and identify the challenges that continue to affect their livelihoods.

From concerns raised by farmers and other community members to requests for support and improved services, the discussions provided a valuable platform for citizens to engage directly with duty bearers. Most importantly, the exercise did not end at just the discussion stage. An action plan was developed, outlining key issues, proposed actions, and the way forward.

This is what meaningful oversight and citizen participation can look like: listening to communities, identifying challenges together, and working towards practical solutions. When communities speak, decision-makers listen, and action follows, development becomes more responsive and inclusive.

The African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs- ACEPA is proud to jointly implement the project with the Parliamentary Centre, with funding from Canada’s International Development – Global Affairs Canada, to strengthen inclusive and gender-responsive policymaking across Ghana, Kenya and Togo.

11/08/2026

The Parliament of Kenya is advancing efforts to promote gender-responsive and inclusive human resource management through the review and development of guidelines and toolkits.

As part of this initiative, the Inclusive Legislatures for Gender-Responsive Policies (ILGRP) Project, funded by Canada’s International Development – Global Affairs Canada and implemented by the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs- ACEPA in partnership with the Parliamentary Centre, supported a two-day working session on 29 and 30 July, 2026. The session brought together staff from parliamentary research services and the Directorate of Human Capital to refine and review the Gender-Responsive Human Resource Supervisors Guidelines.

This session aimed to review and amend the parliamentary administrative human resource policies in Kenya using a gender lens and incorporate gender equality aspects.

This collaborative exercise provided methodological support to strengthen the Guidelines in line with the mandate of the Parliamentary Research Service. It is envisioned that their adoption and institutionalization will mark a significant milestone towards embedding gender equality in human resource policies.

We extend our sincere appreciation to Canada’s International Development – Global Affairs Canada for their invaluable support in making this work possible.

11/08/2026

𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅/ 𝑷𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒚 - 𝑼𝒏𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝑽𝒐𝒕𝒆

Today’s parliamentary phrase is “Unwhipped Vote.”

What does it mean? An unwhipped vote allows Members of Parliament to vote according to their individual views or convictions, rather than being required to follow a party position.

Learning parliamentary terms, one word at a time.

10/08/2026

𝑮𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.

A few weeks ago, the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs- ACEPA, with UNICEF Ghana and in collaboration with the Parliament of Ghana, launched the Parliamentary Caucus on Children.

The Caucus brings together MPs from across parties and committees to champion child-responsive legislation, strengthen oversight, promote evidence-informed policymaking and advocate for greater investment in Ghana’s children.

With children making up more than one-third of Ghana’s population, their rights and well-being must remain at the heart of national policies, budgets and development priorities.

So, what exactly is the Caucus? Why was it established? And what does it hope to achieve?

This article explores the initiative, its importance and the work ahead. Take a read and learn more.

Take a read and learn more: https://bit.ly/4wRRrKZ

10/08/2026

Our Quarter Two Newsletter is here! 🎉

What did the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs- ACEPA achieve between April and June 2026?

From parliamentary engagements and policy discussions to gender-responsive governance, civic engagement and evidence-informed policymaking, our latest newsletter captures some of the key moments and milestones from the quarter.

Catch up on our work, partnerships and impact.

👉 Read the full newsletter: https://bit.ly/45fqBjQ

07/08/2026

DID YOU KNOW?

In 28 countries, young people have no representation in the lower house of the legislature, highlighting a critical gap in inclusive democracy.

06/08/2026

The African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs- ACEPA was honored to join the launch of the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) Governance Series Wave 3 Report on 4th August 2026. Our Senior Governance Advisor, Dr. Gifty Adika delivered remarks on behalf of our Executive Director, Dr. Rasheed Draman.

Key Finding: The report reveals that 69% of citizens interacting with public officials faced demands for unofficial payments (bribes) between July and December 2025. This highlights an urgent need for stronger parliamentary oversight in highcontact public institutions.

As Dr. Draman noted: “Accountability becomes difficult when institutions have little information about their own performance. Likewise, evidence has limited value if it never influences decisions or inspires reform.”

At the ACEPA, we believe governance statistics are not just numbers, they are a catalyst for reform, accountability, and citizen trust.