Members of Parliament (MPs) have come
to the firm conclusion that new bills that come to the house for consideration
must be accompanied by a Fiscal Impact Analysis report for scrutiny.
They blamed the Minister of Finance
for refusing to abide by the Public Financial Management Act, Act 921 section
100 (1), to always accompany a bill emanating from the executive with a Fiscal
Impact Analysis, which the house was required to consider before the bill was
passed.
They said it was an obligation for
the executive to do that even though parliament had the power to demand it.
Section 100 (1) of the PFMA says that
“any legislation to be laid before Parliament or proposal submitted for the
approval of Parliament, shall be accompanied by Fiscal Impact Analysis stating
the estimated effect on revenue and expenditures for the financial year in
which the legislation or proposal is expected to come into effect”
The MPs made that observation when
the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs had a roundtable discussion with members
of two key committees of Parliament – Finance Committee and Committee on
Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs – to build their capacities
under the theme “Interrogating Parliament’s Legislative Power – A Review of
Employment Creation and Fiscal Impact Analysis of Legislation”.
One of the resource persons at the
function, Dr William Baah-Boateng who is
the Head of the Department of Economics at the University of Ghana, said if
Parliament gave a lot of attention to Fiscal Impact Analysis as demanded by
law, it could be a huge avenue for job creation or provision of employment for
Ghanaians.
He said establishment of an outfit
for that and the recruitment of experts to do the analysis for the
parliamentarians could create a whole lot jobs for Ghanaians
The Chief Director of the Ministry of
Parliamentary Affairs, Dr Evans Aggrey-Darkoh, in his remarks said a functioning
and effective Parliament was a sine qua non for the wellbeing of the people.
He therefore said as Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, it was going to collaborate effectively with Parliament as an institution to sharpen its effectiveness and efficiency in promoting the development of the country.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr
