The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Ofoase-Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has urged the government to lay before Parliament the programme documents for 11 initiatives that it has launched for implementation.
That, he said, would enable Parliament and Civil Society Organisations to track their implementation and exercise effective oversight on them to help deepen the governance process.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah, who is also the Minority Ranking Member on Parliament's Committee on Economy and Development, made the call while speaking to journalists in Accra last Sunday.
He stated that although there was no law binding the government to lay the programme documents before Parliament, it would enhance parliamentary oversight and ensure the successful implementation of the programmes if the documents were laid before Parliament.
Programmes
Mr Oppong Nkrumah listed the 11 initiatives so far launched by the government for which funds have been allocated for their implementation, as the One Million Coders programme, the 24-Hour Economy programme, the Jobs Export programme, the Ajumawura programme and the National Apprenticeship programme.
He mentioned the rest as the Tree for Life programme, the Accra Reset programme, One Child, One Tree Initiative, the Ghana Infrastructure Plan, the Free Tertiary Education for Persons with Disabilities and the No Fees Stress initiatives.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah cited the presentation of the One District, One Factory initiative by the then-President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration before Parliament to buttress his point.
"It is important that the programme documents are properly laid before Parliament so that the work of oversight can start," he said.
Call for legislation
In moving forward, Mr Oppong Nkrumah suggested to the Ninth Parliament to pass legislation to compel all future governments to lay before Parliament their programmes for scrutiny to ensure that these initiatives are implemented effectively and efficiently.
He emphasised that his call was to highlight the need for transparency and accountability in government programmes and initiatives.
He added that by making the programme documents available to Parliament, the government was demonstrating its commitment to the tenets of good governance and democracy.
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