Parliament adopts report on grant

Nearly four trillion cedis approved for government expenditure

Accra (Greater Accra) 21 Dec. '99

Parliament on Monday adopted a report for a grant agreement between Ghana and Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) for the implementation of the District Assembly Capacity Building project for the Upper West and Volta Regions.

The 7.1 million- dollar grant will help all the 17 districts in the two regions to contribute towards the improvement of the living standards of the people through enhancement of district economies with special emphasis on women.

Cdr. S. G. Obimpeh (rtd), Chairman of the Finance Committee, recalled a jointly implemented pilot programme on capacity building between Ghana and Denmark for four district assemblies between 1997 and 1998.

He said as a result of the overall positive impact of the 485,000- dollar project, the two governments agreed to extend the project to cover all the district assemblies in the two regions.

Beneficiaries of the grant are the assemblies, the Regional Planning Co-ordinator units of the Regional Co-ordinating Councils involved, the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD).

He said mechanisms to be established under the project would be disseminated through appropriate manuals and policy guidelines for possible replication by the remaining district assemblies.

Dr Kofi Apraku, the Minority Spokesman on Finance, seconding the motion, said it was unfortunate that areas perceived as poverty ravaged are still suffering even though, enough resources have been channelled there.

The ranking member charged that the beneficiaries "get very little of such funds while the rest go to fund the comfort of the programme officers".

Dr Apraku alleged that poverty alleviation funds were normally abused for political purposes and that its delivery and implementation should be critically examined.

Mr Doe Adjaho, the Majority Chief Whip, challenged Dr. Apraku to give specific cases of abuse so that the whole House could deal with it. "In my district, which is Akatsi, there has been no abuse of the poverty alleviation fund."

He said the economist was not doing the nation and Parliament any good by merely theorising on the abuse of the fund.

Mrs Grace Coleman, (NPP-Efiduase-Asokore), said most of the time such funds hardly attains their objectives: " Money is going to places where it should not go and we need to find out."

She said the project should help the assemblies to establish database to facilitate access to information.

Mr Thomas Yeboah, (NDC-Dormaa West), said the project should be extended to all assemblies in the country to alleviate the plight of the majority of the rural population.

Mr Mustapha Iddriss, (NPP-Gukpegu-Sabongida), said the project would help the beneficiary assemblies in areas like, auditing, accounting and computing since most administrative lapses emanate from those desks.

He suggested that in future, urban areas should be included in the project since they have rural segments, which should be catered for.

Mr Alex Kwaku Korankye, (NPP-Asante Akyem South), alleged that in the Asanti Akim South district, the poverty fund was misapplied for political purposes.

On point of order, Mr Francis Korbieh, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development said the ministry was not aware of the allegation and asked the member to substantiate it so that investigations could be conducted into it.

Mr Korankye said vulnerable groups in the district, who were supposed to benefit from the fund "are being sidelined for political reasons".

Mr C.O. Nyanor, NPP-Upper Denkyira, asked how the beneficiaries were chosen.

He said the basis for the selection of the beneficiaries should be made clear so that others could take advantage of it.

Mr Korbieh said the government was prepared to lay bare all conditions that make one eligible for such funding.

He said the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) was roped into the project because the "government believes that it is playing a very useful role in the decentralisation process".

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Accra (Greater Accra) 21 Dec. '99

Parliament on Monday approved by resolution, the withdrawal of nearly four trillion cedis from the Consolidated Fund to meet expenditure necessary to carry on government services for the fist quarter of next year.

In a motion requesting the House to approve the withdrawal, Mr Kwame Peprah, Minister of Finance, explained that the imprest being sought is to keep the government machinery going pending the coming into operation of the Appropriation Bill for the 2000 financial year.

Mr Peprah said that the Ministry, in November, this year, submitted before Parliament the revenue and expenditure estimates for next year in accordance with the Constitution.

But he said these estimates would be subjected to debate by the appropriate committees of Parliament and brought to the floor of the House for further debate and possible approval.

He noted that this process takes a time, and for the government machinery not to grind to a halt during the period, he was requesting the House to approve the withdrawal of the amount.

In the ensuing debate, Mr J. H. Mensah, the Minority Leader, said no indication was given on the government's spending plans in the Ministry's draft financial estimates.

Though Mr Mensah endorsed the Ministry's request for the withdrawal of the amount, he told the House that "the economy is in crisis and these are 'dark' times. "Therefore, our consideration of this demand calls for a more thoughtful and sober reflection".

He stressed that Parliament must be thoughtful in approving any motion that comes before it, saying, "not because the Minister wants three trillion cedis so he must get three trillion cedis".

Mr Mensah drew the members' attention that there was no provision in the financial estimates for the development programme of Parliament.

He, therefore, urged the Minister to amend the proposal or indicate to the House how he intends Parliament to undertake its development programme for next year.

Mr Doe Adjaho, the Majority Chief Whip, pleaded with the House to approve the Minister's request and if there was anything bordering on the budget, that could be debated at the appropriate time.

Winding up the debate, Mr Peprah said he had taken the comments by the Minority Leader very seriously.

"But", he said, "the vote on account being sought is not the final expenditure to attract such a debate, adding that what is before the House is a request for approval of an imprest to keep government machinery running".

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