The Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has publicly accused the government of failing to submit essential documentation for its major flagship programmes to Parliament, thereby preventing necessary legislative scrutiny and approval.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Parliament’s third meeting, Afenyo-Markin highlighted that several key government programmes have yet to undergo any form of parliamentary oversight, despite being scheduled for implementation. He specifically named:
- The 24-hour economy initiative
- The 1 million codes program
- The Feed Ghana programme
- The programme to export labour
- The national apprenticeship program
“The 24-hour economy program, the 1 million codes program, the agro agri-food economic transformation program, the program to export labour as announced by the President, and the national apprenticeship program, just to mention a few, have not seen parliamentary scrutiny,” he stated.
Afenyo-Markin emphasised that the executive arm is legally obligated to present such programme documents to Parliament before execution, as these initiatives rely on public funds approved by the legislature. He argued that the current lack of transparency fundamentally undermines effective oversight.
“We cannot say that there is oversight when the basic program documents are not laid before Parliament. It is therefore imperative that the government shows commitment and avails these documents to Parliament for proper oversight to commence,” he stressed.
He further cited two major upcoming initiatives as examples of this stalling:
- The “Feed Ghana” programme (scheduled for April 2025), aimed at modernising agriculture, creating jobs, and building agro-industries.
- The “Big Push” infrastructure initiative (scheduled for September 2025), a $10 billion plan designed to enhance national connectivity.
