NDPC consults Parliament on development agenda
By Edmund Smith-Asante, PARLIAMENT HOUSE
Members
of the committee lauded the NDPC for the thorough work done, but expressed
concern that recommendations in the draft report presented by the NDPC Director
General, Dr Regina O Adutwum, were based on evidence from 2012, saying 2013 had
got worse.
Dr Akoto Osei also stated that the Ministry of Finance was violating the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) laws, alleging that the laws on financial administration had been put aside in the disbursement.
As part
of its consultation process with stakeholders to fine-tune the Ghana Shared
Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA) II for 2014 to 2017, the National
Development Planning Commission (NDPC) on Tuesday met with the joint Committee
on Finance and Poverty Reduction Strategy in Parliament.
“So all
your projections based on 2012 are dead on arrival,” the Minority Spokesperson
for Finance, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, said. For instance, he cited that Ghana’s
fiscal deficit had changed since 2012.
Insisting
that there was the need for the prioritisation of issues raised in the report,
he recommended that instead of the 158 listed accountable governance issues,
the 20 most crucial ones could be identified and worked on.
Dr Akoto Osei also stated that the Ministry of Finance was violating the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) laws, alleging that the laws on financial administration had been put aside in the disbursement.
He noted
that in the absence of a fiscal responsibility law, other laws on financial
administration could be employed by legislators to put things in check.
Indiscipline
The
committee members also blamed the challenges of development cited in the draft
report on indiscipline.
“The main
constraint of the development of Ghana is indiscipline. If we are not
disciplined Ghana will become a basket case,” the Member of Parliament for
Shama, Mr Gabriel Kodwo Essilfie, said.
Referring
to the challenges of environmental sanitation mentioned in the report, the
Member of Parliament for Ningo/Prampram, Mr Enoch Teye Mensah, said “the filth
that we see around is a result of inaction.”
He said
there were no planning units at the district assemblies and, therefore, called
for the proper structuring of systems.
The
Member of Parliament for Subin, Mr Isaac Osei, however, said there was a delink
in the annual budget and the release of funds, while information currently
available did not match what was in the draft report because certain things may
have happened in 2013 that were not captured.
He stated
that certain portions of the report indicated that the environment for doing
business had not shown any improvement, which meant that either the reforms
were not working or were not being implemented.
According
to him, an Industrial Development Fund (IDF) with a support programme was
supposed to have been established at the time that the industrial sector policy
framework was put in place but it had still not been established.
The
Member of Parliament for Yapei/Kusawgu, Alhaji Seidu Amadu, recommended that
“First, let’s resolve the funding constraints– identify them and then see how
the resolution of these funding constraints will propel the development of
Ghana.”
Response
Dr
Adutwum, however, explained that the period of assessment for the report was 2009
to 2013. She agreed that indiscipline had affected implementation of the
country’s laws. “We have beautiful laws but no power of enforcement,” she said.
The NDPC
Director General also stated that much of the country’s development challenges
were as a result of the lack of prioritisation and the weak link that existed
in the country’s budget.
Report
Earlier
in the presentation of the draft report of the GSGDA II (2014-2017) to the
joint committee, Dr Adutwum stated, “The strategic direction for national
development is to leverage our natural resource endowments, agriculture
potential and relatively large human resource base to accelerate socio-economic
transformation through value addition and industrial production, starting with
light manufacturing and diversification.”
She said
this would be supported by partnership with the private sector to expand the
development of critical infrastructure through self-financing means, including
public-private partnerships (PPPs) and other commercial arrangements.
Dr
Adutwum told the committee that the policy proposals over the medium term would
anchor on the continued pursuit of macroeconomic stability, the creation of the
right fiscal space for accelerated investments in key priority programmes and
the sustainable exploration of Ghana’s natural resources in the agricultural
sector, minerals, oil and gas.
She said
the policy would also focus on strategic investments in human capital,
infrastructure, human settlements, science, technology and innovation to drive
industrialisation, especially manufacturing.
Writer’s email: Edmund.Asante@graphic.com.gh
This story was first published by the Daily Graphic on June 27, 2014
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