Ways Parliament Can Enhance Public Financial Management in Ghana:

1. Enacting Effective Legislation: Parliament can enhance public financial management by ensuring that strong and effective laws are passed to govern the management of financial resources. Parliament has the power to scrutinize and debate financial laws dispassionately, ensuring they are robust and relevant. If laws are found to be weak or outdated, Parliament should act swiftly to amend or repeal them to ensure they remain effective.
2. Ensuring Compliance with Existing Laws: Beyond passing laws, Parliament must ensure that existing financial legislation is strictly complied with by the executive and public sector managers. This can be achieved through rigorous oversight functions, regular inquiries, and the imposition of sanctions where there is non-compliance with the laws.
3. Scrutinizing and Approving the National Budget: Parliament’s role in scrutinizing and approving the national budget and supplementary budgets is crucial. By conducting detailed examinations of the budget, ensuring that it aligns with national priorities, and rejecting politically motivated expenditures, Parliament can ensure that public resources are allocated effectively and in the public interest.
4. Monitoring Budget Implementation: Parliament can enhance public financial management by closely monitoring the implementation of the budget throughout the fiscal year. This includes demanding timely mid-year review reports from the Minister of Finance as required by the Public Financial Management Act 2016, analyzing these reports critically, and taking corrective action where deviations from the approved budget are identified.
5. Effective Examination of Public Accounts: Through the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Parliament should ensure that the Auditor-General’s reports on the public accounts are thoroughly examined, and any cases of financial irregularities are investigated. PAC should ensure that recommendations are implemented promptly, holding public officers accountable for their financial management practices.
6. Enforcing Sanctions for Financial Misconduct: Parliament should ensure that there is an effective sanctioning regime for corruption and other financial malpractices in the public sector. It should ensure that recommendations for sanctions from PAC or other oversight bodies are implemented without delay.
7. Summoning Public Officers for Accountability: Parliament should regularly summon public officers to answer questions about their financial management practices, particularly where there are indications of mismanagement or misuse of public funds. This will enhance accountability and deter financial misconduct.