Ghana in Search of Regional Integration Agenda 55 should not be viewed as one of convenience but that the country, first and fore most, and the Parliament of Ghana should have substantial benefits from such representation(Hansard, Vol. 59, Number 19, Thursday, 19 th June 2008). According to a former Ghanaian delegate to the Community Parliament, the fact that the Parliament is not a law making body in the conventional sense has hindered the institution to be pro-active, thus limiting it to“a forum of discussions, deliberations and recommendations.” 77 He contends that the idea to create a parliament was perhaps accidental, considering the fact that it took six long years for the 1994 protocol to be translated into reality in 2000 and the reluctance of the Authority of Heads of State and Government to provide the institution with the powers to exceed its original mandate, thus to be consulted on matters concerning the Community. He believes that this condition is compounded by the fact that member countries are unwilling to yield part of their national sovereignty towards a greater communal good. 78 Despite the institutional limitations, the Ghanaian delegate was of the view that the Parliament had performed its duties through debates at both Plenary and Committee Sittings on a wide range of issues germane to its mandate and competence. These are normally covered in thirteen subject-matter Committees whose areas of deliberations correspond to various ministerial and administrative sectors of national governments. Deliberations are largely held in the following Committees: Foreign Affairs, Cooperation, Defence and Security; Legal and Judicial Affairs; Rural Development; Transport and Communications; Environment and Natural Resources; Public Health and Social Affairs; Education and Training, Employment, Youth and Sports; Economy and Finance; Industry and Mines; Energy, Technology and Scientific Research; Women and Children's Rights; Tourism and Culture; and Budget Control. The framework for parliamentary business, therefore, accords delegates the flexibility to provide inputs on various issues as they relate to the subjects of Community treaties, protocols and decisions of the Authority of Heads of State and Government. In terms of actual work accomplished in the Community Parliament to which Ghanaian representatives actively contributed, the Ghanaian delegate draws attention to the following: • The Permanent Framework for Coordination and Monitoring of Integrated Water Resource Management in West Africa; • The adoption of a Regional Plan of Action for Integrated Water Resource Management; • The issue of Energy in West Africa, particularly the establishment of a mechanism for financing of the West Africa Power Pool(WAPP); 77 Kenneth Dzirasah, op. cit., p. 8. 78 Ibid.