Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee, Isaac Adongo has said stricter controls on government spending and parliamentary approval for multi-year agreements are necessary to ensure the state does not enter financial commitments without proper authorisation.

He explained that commitment controls require the Finance Minister to confirm the availability of funds before procurement processes proceed, with the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) serving as a gatekeeper.

Adongo said the controls are intended to ensure that government agencies do not undertake expenditure obligations without the necessary financial backing.

He said the commitment authorisation framework requires the Finance Minister to assure that funds will be available to meet the obligations before the PPA proceeds with procurement decisions.

“Before anybody can incur some expenditures, especially those that are of multiple year nature, you require the approval of the finance minister,” Adongo said in an interview on Joy News.

He added that the PPA had been given a gatekeeping role to ensure the process is followed, particularly in public procurement.

Adongo also pointed to Section 33 of the Public Financial Management Act, which requires agreements with multi-year financial implications to receive parliamentary approval.

He said Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson had begun bringing such agreements before Parliament, including arrangements involving Tata Consulting, to ensure compliance with the law.

“He looked at them and said no, we need to be compliant with our own laws,” Adongo said.

The Finance Committee chairman argued that parliamentary scrutiny of such agreements is important because some government commitments in the past had not been brought before the House for examination and approval.