Allowing MPs to supervise Common Fund may breed corruption – Analyst

Governance Analyst Dr. Fred Oduro has said changing the law to allow Parliament to have some level of control over the Common Fund can breed corruption.

This comes on the back of the deputy Minority Whip, Ibrahim Ahmed accusing the Local Government Rural Development and Decentralisation Minister, Dan Botwe of kicking above his weight in the impasse with Common Fund administrator Iren Naa Torshie.

The Minister has written to President Akufo-Addo to complain about the failure of the administrator to collaborate with his Ministry in the discharge of her duties.

The Minister explains all attempts to get Naa Torshie to report to him for the past two and half years have proven futile.

Commenting on the development on Morning Starr with Francis Abban, the governance analyst stated that Parliament cannot support management of the Common Fund effectively like the Ministry of Local Government will do.

“The MPs have found a way to say that they directly control the Fund and that the Fund administrator will always need the MP not the Minister. It goes against corporate governance. This is where in future we are going to see a lot of challenges with the administration of that Fund.

“Members of Parliament are not going to be there day to day to supervise what is going on with the Fund administration. The Ministry has got the capacity, often when we talk about the Ministry we are not just talking about just the Minister, the Minister has got a whole bureaucracy supporting him. And ensure that the Fund will do what is expected of it. What does Parliament got to support them to ensure that the Fund performs its functions? Except going to the Public Accounts Committee,” Mr. Oduro stated.

He continued: “So please we are treading on a very dangerous grounds and for cheap politics we should not allow this to happen. The Fund falls directly under the Local Governance ACT and if you look into the ACT every reference is to the Minister responsible for Local Government.”

Mr. Oduro further advised that Ghanaians should not allow politics into the management of the Common Fund.

“We shouldn’t do politics with this, that is where we allow corruption to creep in. Because what is going to happen is that the Fund administrator will be in to bribe the MP and because it is to their benefit they will gross over wrong doing. We shouldn’t allow this to happen. It is so unfair to us as a people,” he added.