Civil Society can strengthen Parliamentary oversight responsibility

Accra, Oct. 27, GNA- The President of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS), Nana Dr S. K. B. Asante on Monday said participation of civil societies in the legislative process could substantially strengthen the oversight responsibilities of parliament.

He said civil society organisations could sensitise parliament to investigate certain aspects of the administration or enact legislation to "cure" a defect in the governmental system through articles in the media or memoranda to the relevant standing committees.

Dr Asante was delivering a paper on "the empowerment of parliament as an institution of democracy" at the 16th Speaker's Breakfast Forum at Parliament House, under the auspices of the Speaker of Parliament in collaboration with the institute of Economic Affairs.

Some members of the Council of State, Ministers, representatives of political parties, donor communities and members of civil societies attended the forum sponsored by the UNDP.

Dr Asante, who is also the Omanhene of Asante Asokore Traditional Area, said non-governmental organisations and other civil society organisations could educate the public about the role of MP's and in particular their oversight responsibilities

He suggested that the Speaker of parliament and staff together with the various committees should come out with proposals for the provision of the requisite assistance by various organisations and international donors.

Dr Asante said parliamentary power over the purse seems to be limited by Article 108 of the constitution where parliament is prohibited from proceeding upon certain bills with financial or tax implications, unless they are introduced by or on behalf of the President

He said such a limitation on legislative competence appears unwarranted since that debars parliament from taking appropriate measures to provide funds for its own purposes.

Dr Asante said one of the constraints on the effectiveness of parliament is that members have not been equipped with the requisite human and material resources to effectively exercise their oversight and legislative responsibilities.

He said the international community also has a vital role in strengthening the oversight responsibilities of Parliament by providing expertise of their respective countries to the House, by organising meaningful study tours for MPs and by providing adequate resources to finance technical support staff, libraries and other facilities.

Dr Asante said the oversight responsibilities of parliament could be strengthened if parliament availed itself of its express or implied constitutional powers to supervise or regulate the executive in certain specified areas.

He said parliament needs both human and material resources, technical experts and supporting staff to ensure that members have appropriate incentives to develop their parliamentary career.

Dr Asante said while there is no consensus on the issue of creating an absolute separation of powers that precludes MPs from serving as Ministers, there does not appear to be a strong opposition to constitutional amendment that would remove the requirement of appointing a majority of ministers from parliament as stipulated by Article 78.

He stressed the need for Parliamentary approval of international business transaction since the efficacy and viability of many development strategies, development plans, industrial and agricultural projects, structural adjustment, international financial and commercial agreements are all effective, competent and honest negotiators.

Dr Asante said it seemed Parliament has not exhausted its legislative powers of enacting an appropriate legislation to govern the process of ratifying international business transactions on the lines of the Loans Act, 1970.

Mr Peter Ala Adjetey, Speaker of Parliament said the theme for the Forum was appropriate because of the widespread public misconception and the necessity to dispel such misconceptions if the country is to make progress as a people in nurturing and sustaining "our regrettably still infant democracy".

He said there is the need to ask questions that need urgent answers and solutions such as the level or degree of independence provided by the existing constitutional and legal framework to Ghana's parliament and how this impinges on other organs of government.

Some of the questions to ask, he said are, how far the choice of a hybrid legislative structure, that is a mixture of the Presidential and parliamentary systems, produced either a well-functioning or not so well functioning legislature capable or incapable of discharging its constitutional obligations efficiently.

Mr Adjetey said other questions are "whether our constitutional framework provide a satisfactory level of co-operation between the various organs of government, what is the scope and extent of our parliament's power to enact laws and do strong formal legislative powers in the constitution necessarily guarantee an alternative legislation.