Parliament’s new Standing Order creates economic committee to scrutinise loan agreements

The new Standing Orders of Parliament have allowed the creation of an Economic Committee, which will have the primary function of scrutinising the implications of government loan agreements meticulously.

The Committee would constitute Members of Parliament (MPs) with expertise in economics “to enhance Parlaiment’s ability to offer and seek professional advice economic wise,” Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader, said at a Leaders’ Media Briefing in Parliament on Thursday.

The briefing is a periodic engagement between the leadership of the House and the media at the beginning of every meeting of Parliament to outline the framework of the meeting.

It also serves as a platform of interaction between the leaders, the Media Relations Department of Parliament and the Parliamentary Press Corps.

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said: “We didn’t use to have a committee on the economy, we now have one. The reason is simple, when we contract loans and we refer the same agreements to the Finance Committee, they will come to us with the goodness or otherwise of the facility.”

“Usually, they will relate to the terms and conditions of the loan, the payment schedule, and the impact of the loan they don’t report on.”

“And we felt that, no, we need a committee on the economy that will dive into this. Even if they don’t have the competency in its entirety to advice, we will engage experts who will go into this and inform Parliament accordingly so that in making any decision on the approval of a loan facility or whatever facility we will be so guided,” the New Patriotic Party MP for Suame told the media.