According to him, the committee should also be empowered to ensure that every public funds appropriated to the executive was properly accounted for.

Mr Dery was speaking at the opening of the Regional Public Financial Management Training for Improved Budget Oversight and Accountability for African Organisation of Public Account Committees (AFROPAC) in Accra.

The five-day seminar is on the theme: Budget cycles in African Parliamentary systems: Defining an active role and contribution of legislators in public finance management, sponsored by the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ) and attended by 80 participants from 10 countries.

Mr Dery added that the wider the PAC mandate, the greater its potential to deter wasteful wrongdoing and encourage the better management of public resources.

He however argued that having broad mandate or scope was of little use if the committee was unable to identify major issues that adversely impacted accountability in public office.

He said the optimal use of scarce financial resources could only take place where there was proper coordination among all stakeholder’s concern and urged parliament to step up and play their oversight and accountable role to ensure good governance for the people.

Mr Dery said weak and porous financial management systems in African countries provided a breeding ground for many corrupt officials to siphon state resources through dubious means. He said it was estimated that Africa lost over $143 billion annually through corruption, which was more than the total Foreign Direct Investments, multi-lateral and bi-lateral support and loans contracted by all the African countries.

Mr Dery further stated that the role of parliament and its watchdog committee had become increasingly important in an effort to reverse the trend and free up scarce resources critical for the development of the continent. Mrs Angelline Osegge, Vice Chairperson, AFROPAC speaking on the topic “International Peer Learning for Budget Accountability in Africa” stated that parliaments in Africa were challenged in holding their government accountable for translating the will of the people into action and meeting their expectations in relations to the SDGs and other national and regional development goals.

She said the Public Financial Management (PFM) is a crucial element in achieving these goals and ensure budgetary oversight that is efficient, sustainable and effective in promoting the interest of the people.

She said there were challenges in the work of parliaments overseeing PFM together with partners in all sectors of the society and stated that despite the diverse PFM backgrounds described as Anglophone or Francophone, the countries in reality were more common than sometimes acknowledged.

He said decades of evolution and reforms as well as cooperation and learning had led to countries growing closer together and stressed the need for parliamentary bodies in charge of PFM to promote the democratic accountability of the countries governments regarding the handling of public funds.