Seminar for African Parliamentarians opens

Accra, Aug. 11, GNA - Senior Minister Joseph Henry Mensah on Monday reminded African Parliamentarians to ensure value for money in their dealings.

Addressing a four-day Regional Seminar for Public Accounts Committees of African Parliamentarians in Accra, Mr Mensah cautioned them against the misuse of resources, saying, "tax money is not personal money".

He said there was the need for Parliamentarians to have a firm grasp of financial policies to avoid the clogging of issues.

Mr Mensah, Leader of Government Economic Team, said the preparation of annual budgets often started around August and added that both the Executive and Legislature should be interested in their end products. He said there was the need to end petty and grand corruption, pointing out that Ghana was in the process of putting in new measures to ensure accountability in the use of public funds.

The Senior Minister stressed the need for continuing education for Parliamentarians to equip them to handle public funds efficiently. Mr Peter Ala Adjetey, Speaker of Parliament, said there was the overwhelming need to enhance the capacity of Parliamentary structures and organs to exercise their oversight functions over the Executive. The Speaker said there was a mismatch in the level of resources available to the Executive compared to the Legislature because the Executive did not commit adequate resources to the Legislature to discharge its functions.

"There is need for critical steps to address this imbalance as quickly as possible and to provide Parliaments in Africa with the wherewithal to enable them to discharge their constitutional functions effectively," Mr Adjetey said.

The seminar is organised jointly by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the World Bank Institute and it is on the theme: "The Budget Cycle, Oversight and Public Accounts Committees". It would, among other things, provide a platform for Members of Parliament to exchange ideas and experiences with one another and, therefore, provide a better understanding of the budgetary cycle in the Parliaments of the Region.

It will also discuss the budget presentation and the processes it follows through Parliament; examine the role and status of poverty reduction policies; the processes of oversight and implications of the budgetary cycle.