Bagbin makes case for Public Account Committees

Mr Alban Bagbin, Leader of Government Business and Majority Leader in Parliament, says the West Africa Association of Public Accounts Committees (WAAPAC) are the agents that hold governments accountable for the management and use of public resources.

He said the platform-WAAPAC- which has a lot of potential, would boost the decisiveness and authority of parliaments to make very significant contributions to the quest for value for money in public spending, effective scrutiny and oversight of executive functions.

Speaking at the opening of the Sixth Accountability Conference and the Fifth Annual General Meeting of the WAAPAC in Lome, Togo over the weekend, Mr Bagbin noted that due to the lack of public trust in Parliaments' ability to effectively enforce financial oversight on the executive, it is imperative that the legislature is open, transparent and accountable to the people they represent.

He said the creation of new platforms such as the WAAPAC, to share experience, best practices and information would enhance the capacity of Public Accounts Committees (PAC) and enable it stay abreast of the ever-changing world order.

Mr Bagbin who was a delegated to the four-day meeting by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) as the West African Representative on the Executive Committee of CPA International, told participants at the gathering that the association looks forward to the outcome and action plan of the conference.

"The CPA assures you of its unflinching commitment to ensuring that PACs become effective and preferred instruments of democratic and responsive governments of today's world," Mr. Bagbin said.

The lack of public trust in parliaments' ability to effectively enforce financial oversight was a common theme running through members' contributions.

There was an overarching agreement that it is imperative for all parliamentarians to be open, transparent and accountable to the people they represent.