Fighting Purchasing-Related Corruption – A Minority Leader Charges Parliament

General News of Monday, July 15, 2019

Source: ghanaiantimes.com.gh

2019-07-15

Haruna Iddrisu, leader of the minority, called on Parliament to lead the fight against procurement-related corruption by ensuring that value-for-money audits are a prerequisite for all projects approved by the House.

According to the Tamale South legislator, this was the only way Parliament could have the moral power to exercise its constitutional control over individuals and institutions violating the procurement process.

"Charity, it is said, begins at home. The exercise of Parliament's oversight and control over the State Treasury obliges it to preserve the public treasury and to ensure that funds intended for corruption, which would impede national development, are [re]directed, "he said.

Iddrisu spoke at a two-day workshop held on Saturday in Koforidua for select parliamentary committees to strengthen their parliamentary oversight capacity through government procurement.

Under the auspices of the Cabinet of the Minister of State for Public Procurement and on the theme "Strengthening Parliamentary Control Through Government Procurement", some of the committees participating in the workshop were: Finance, Roads and Transport , Public Accounts, Defense and Interior and Mines and Energy.

Majority and minority caucuses in the House have engaged over the years in fierce debates over value-for-money audits whenever project agreements have been presented to them.

While the minority caucus insisted on value-for-money audits before these agreements got the blessing of Parliament, the majority caucus said that this would also be the case during the course of implementation.

The most recent example is the Sinohydro deal of 2 billion GH ¢ in which Mr. Iddrisu led Minority's request for a value-for-money audit before the deal was received. Parliament and was rejected by the majority.

Without referring to the example above, Mr. Iddrisu said that examples like this are "a wrong done to our country. This is a fake. A bad purchase by Parliament, and I say it from 1993 to yesterday. "

"We should develop a new way of thinking that will allow committee chairs to take their place, whether under NDC or NPP, by saying," I recommend that this report be adopted, for the sake of value for money. ", did he declare.

For him, approving transactions before value-for-money audits were carried out was an indictment against Parliament and the control responsibility it had.

"As a Parliament, we need to redefine our role in this regard, regardless of our political party. We should say that no value for money, no recommendation of approval is made to Parliament, whether projects or other projects, "he said.

Bekwai First Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei-Owusu blamed the NPP and the NDC for succumbing to ethical and political pressures that led to a bending of procurement rules.

"We are dishonest people. We all know the rules, but we do not like to respect them, "he lamented.

According to him, the politician was not the only sect of society guilty of dishonesty, but the citizens who still want the political clbad to break the established procedures for their personal interest.

Mr. Osei-Owusu said that although the country was evolving, development was not commensurate with the needs of the population.

He therefore urged his colleagues to abide by high ethical standards and put the country's best interests at the top of his priorities for his well-being.