ABSTRACT

Since the commencement of the fourth republic in 1992, Ghana has pursued an ambitious programme of public sector reforms, including initiatives aimed at putting limited public resource to optimal use and strengthening democratic political governance. This makes the financial oversight role of parliament exercised through its Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to minimise the potential for corruption by scrutinising government expenditure and making appropriate recommendations to government. However, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) faces challenges in carrying out its duties. Hence, this study researched into enhancing the effectiveness of the oversight and scrutiny of public expenditure by the public accounts committee of parliament of Ghana. The objectives of the study were a) why PAC is unable to apply the whips b) ascertain the resource adequacy and under empowerment of PAC to carry out its work and c) the implementation status of the recommendations made by the Public Accounts Committee to Parliament. Purposive sampling was the sampling technique used for the selection of ten (10) respondent comprising of minority members, majority members, journalise and senior offices from the Controller and Accountant–General’s Department. Qualitative research method was adopted. The study uncovered that Public Accounts Committee is under resourced and not well empowered. Again, the committee is unable to apply the whips because the Constitution and the Standing Orders that established it do not allow Public Accounts Committee to prosecute. This leaves Public Accounts Committee’s role as mere to Parliament, and makes its recommendations rectifiable by Parliament, to the Auditor General, Attorney General and the Police to prosecute corrupt officials.

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

•         Background of the Study

In recent times, parliamentary oversight and scrutiny of the public purse to ensure that public funds are spent economically, efficiently and effectively according to due process is a key component of democratic systems across the world. In particular, the Public Accounts Committee has become a vital mechanism for holding governments and other providers of public services to account for the taxpayers’ money they spend. Article 187(2) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana provides that, “The public accounts of Ghana and of all public offices, including the courts, the central and local administrations, of the universities and public institutions of like nature, of any public corporation or other body or organization established by an Act of Parliament shall be audited and reported on by the Auditor-General”. Also, research justifies that two important elements, namely the office of the Auditor General, and a parliamentary oversight committee are key in measuring the performance of public accountability systems (McGee, 2002). According to Stapenhurst, Sahgal, Woodley and Pelizzo (2005, p. 4), “public accounts committees are seen as the apex for financial scrutiny and have been promoted as a crucial mechanism to facilitate transparency in government financial operations”. In addition, Stapenhurst et al (2005, p.3) maintains that a public accounts committee is a core institution for public financial accountability and that it is a key instrument that a legislature can utilise to further strengthen oversight over public resources. Furthermore, McGee (2002, p. 55) asserts that, “the PAC helps Parliaments hold the government to account for its use

of public funds and resources by examining the public accounts”. The modus operandi across jurisdictions differ in many ways however key elements of all are oversight, scrutiny and control of public funds (McGee 2002; Bosak, 2003).