Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, has called on the Pan-African Parliament to match its calls for increased funding with clear budget priorities and responsible spending.
Addressing the Parliament on Friday, August 1, the Nsawam Adoagyiri MP said he was impressed by presentations on the budget and the proposed Model Law on Factoring, but stressed the urgent need for clarity on how funds are planned and used.
Speaking on the 2024 Budget, he said the Parliament must go beyond just allocating funds and start by setting clear priorities.
“I think going into the future, we should always set out what our priorities are as a parliament and say ‘A and B were our prior priorities’ then when we present the budget, the budget should feed into these priorities,” he said.
He questioned the usefulness of celebrating success rates in the absence of context.
“I hear the presenter talked about an 81% success rate for the 2024 Budget. We should be elucidating on what constituted the 81%. It may be the case that the 81% success story was more of an area that we did not target or put much emphasis on.”
Mr. Annoh-Dompreh warned that simply calling for more money without ensuring accountability was short-sighted.
“Whilst we are advocating for more funding, we should also be advocating for the appropriate allocation and the judicious usage of the funds that have been allocated,” he said. He stressed the need for stronger oversight mechanisms.
“We must also get a monitoring system where the usage or otherwise of these funds given is monitored.”
He urged lawmakers to be more innovative, especially in the face of growing restrictions from the West.
“In this age of restrictions, at least we can talk about the restrictions coming from the USA with this attendant effect; we should be getting innovative.”
He pointed to carbon credits as one of the “low-hanging fruits” Africa could tap into.
“The carbon credit system is becoming admirable in the narrative of the world. For instance, I am aware of what the European Union is doing, and particularly the UAE. There is a huge potential there where member countries can plough into the carbon credit system.”
Turning his attention to the proposed Model Law on Factoring, he commended the initiative.
“Let me commend you highly. I’m sure our torch-bearers today will be shaking in their graves. The Kwame Nkrumah, the Robert Mugabe, the Julius Nyerere, all of them will be shaking in their graves that the very views and vision of the continent is beginning to find expressions in our fundamental narratives as a continent.”
He said the conversation must include the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“We cannot talk about Model law on factoring without the input or bringing in work on the relevance and the importance of the continental free trade area.
At least, it is one of the biggest Free Trade Agreements after the WTO, and we as a continent moving forward should find a way we can appropriate this into our forward march.”
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