Parliament will continue to hold executive accountable

Mr Moses Anim, Member of Parliament (MP) for Trobu-Amasaman, in the Greater Accra Region, has given the assurance that Parliament would continue to hold the Executive accountable.

The MP said parliament would continue to work and play its role effectively, devoid of political inclinations to ensure that Government delivers on its promises for the benefit of all taxpayers and for the development of the country.

Mr Anim gave the assurance at Fise, a suburb of Trobu-Amasaman in the Greater Accra Region, while interacting with the constituents during the Penplusbytes citizens’ forum held with the aim at connecting citizens to Parliament.

The citizens’ forum dubbed: “Dialogue with Parliament,” forms a key component of the “Connecting Citizens to Parliament” project being implemented by Penplusbytes with support from OSIWA.

The forum attracted chiefs, opinion leaders, district assembly and unit committee members, union leaders, representatives from various political parties and citizens to discuss government promises on energy, roads and infrastructure among others.

The participants had the opportunity to engage and interact with their MP, who is also member of the Committee on Government Assurances (CGA) of Parliament and expressed their concerns and opinions on governance.

Mr Anim educated the citizens on the work of parliament, duties of an MP and emphasised on the role and work of the CGA, which he described as a “standing Committee of Parliament, created by the standing Orders in 1998 to exercise oversight responsibility over the Executive”.

“Order 174 (2) of the Standing Orders of Parliament indicates that, it shall be the duty of the Committee on Government Assurances to pursue all assurances, promises and undertaking given by Ministers from time to time.

“It shall also be the function of the Committee to report to the House on the extent to which such assurances have been fulfilled. Therefore, the Committee on Government Assurances seeks accountability for the Ghanaian people through their elected representatives,” he explained.

Mr Kwami Ahiabenu, President of Penplusbytes, explained that the forum has been designed to create a structured engagement mechanism between citizens and parliament to enhance their ability to hold duty bearers accountable through increased interaction between them and Parliament.”

“This forum is the fourth of its kind undertaken by Penplusbytes this year, and it provides opportunities for a diversity of voices to be heard on issues that matter to people, and fosters a sense of mutuality, belonging and a sense of empowerment, all of which strengthens our burgeoning democracy.”

Participants at the forum called for more of such interactions to enable them meet their MPs more regularly, while serving as a platform that would offer them the opportunity to express their opinions on legislations and government policies which affect them.

They said such a forum would also enable them to share in decision-making, thereby assuming more ownership of solutions and more responsibility for their implementation.

The CGA together with Penplusbytes would hold the next citizen forum at the University of Cape Coast after undertaking verification of some projects promised by the Government, which includes the Cape Coast Stadium and the construction of a new market at Kotokroba.