Public Agenda (Accra)
8 September 2008
editorial
Accra — At last the Third High Level Conference on Aid Effectiveness ended in Accra Thursday with both donors and recipients agreeing to work together to help poor countries across the world build a successful future based on a shared commitment to overcome poverty; a future in which no countries will depend on aid.
Two important things came to the fore during the discussion on aid effectiveness: strengthening efficiency and effectiveness, and ensuring accountability.
Though many people argue that the contracting of aid largely remains a deal between governments of poor countries and developed countries, it is not out of place for parliament to play its oversight responsibility over the executive in such an exercise.
One positive development at the forum was the call for Parliaments around the world to monitor and evaluate aid transactions and utilization. Specifically, the delegates underscored the crucial role Parliaments could play in ensuring that people benefit from aid. This calls for the need for capacity building for Parliaments.
It was therefore forthright that delegates called for more powers for parliaments around the world to monitor and evaluate aid transactions and utilization. But to do this, there is the need for capacity building for parliaments as an institution. In the past many members of Parliament did not monitor aid disbursement because they lacked the capacity.
While not belabouring the importance of parliament in making aid effective, nobody can ignore the fact that the basic body of accountability is Parliament and that members in this institution are direct representatives of the people and therefore directly accountable to them.
Public Agenda acknowledges the critical role and responsibility of parliaments in ensuring country ownership of development processes. It is our hope that our governments will work more closely with our Parliament and local authorities in preparing, implementing and monitoring national development policies and plans and Ghana will be the better for it.
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