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The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has launched an initiative to strengthen Parliament's oversight responsibilities and ensure a faster legislative review and better economic governance and fiscal discipline.
“This initiative will strengthen parliamentary oversight, improve fiscal management and deepen understanding of economic policies among MPs.”
“By equipping Parliament, especially new legislators, with needed skills and knowledge, the programme will foster effective governance, accountability and transparent management of public resources,” he said in launching the project.
The $1.6 million “Building the Capacity of Parliamentarians for Economic and Financial Governance” project will enhance Parliament’s economic and financial governance.
It is being executed by Parliament in partnership with the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) and the World Bank.
It will be dedicated to implementing a comprehensive capacity-building programme for Ghanaian parliamentarians in the areas of economic and financial governance over the next 18 months.
Mr Bagbin said as the anchor of democratic governance, Parliament had been the principal forum where people’s voices found legitimate expression.
Parliament, he explained, was where governments were scrutinised, laws processed and passed and grievances resolved.
“It is the protector of human rights and freedoms and the forum where societal norms and values are shaped,” he said.
With Ghana's Parliament having grown bigger and better, he, however, said as the global and national economic landscapes had become increasingly complex and uncertain, so were the demands on legislative institution, including that of Ghana.
“The challenges of the global financial sector place issues of public finance management, debt sustainability, prudent use of resources and overall economic supervision at the centre of democratic governance.”
“These are not only demanding in nature but also require a deep understanding, a mix of skill-sets and competences to manage,” he said.
He said under his leadership, 12 new committees and offices to improve accountability and transparency in economic governance had been established.
“Parliament must, as a matter of necessity, follow up on this transformative review to build its capacity to examine economic policies, scrutinise budgets and ensure the proper functioning of accountability mechanisms to ensure prudent utilisation of public funds,” he said.
He expressed his gratitude to the UK FCDO and the World Bank for their support, which underscored their confidence in Ghana's commitment towards strengthening its democratic institutions and economic resilience.
The acting World Bank Division Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Michelle Keane, said legislative committees required the necessary skills and knowledge to enhance their ability to evaluate allocations and use of government expenditures and revenues.
“It will also help to better assess the economic and distributional impacts of fiscal decisions, and ensure that economic policies are aligned with medium-term macroeconomic sustainability and inclusive and sustainable development goals,” he said.
The Chargé d’affaires at the British High Commission, Keith McMahon, said the UK firmly believed that only Ghanaians and their elected representatives could drive Ghana’s prosperity.
