ACEPA Opens two-Days Data Accountability Workshop for Parliament Committee
In an effort to strengthen the work of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Committee of Ghana’s Parliament, the Africa Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA) has organised a two-day workshop for members of the committee in Accra.
The purpose of the workshop, according to ACEPA which collaborated with the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) is to assist the committee members to understand the poverty issues with relevant data to make an informed decision and come up with relevant strategies to help alleviate poverty.
The Executive Director of ACEPA, Dr. Rasheed Draman, in brief remarks at the opening ceremony on Saturday, November 19, 2022, called on the parliamentarians to actively partake as their contributions remain vital to strengthening their legislative role which depends largely on credible and verifiable data.
The Committee made up of both Majority and Minority Members of Parliament would be taken through a series of training issues under the Data for Accountability Project (DAP) and the role MPs could play to improve and strengthening developmental policies in their respective Constituencies.
The parliamentarians are also expected to share their experience, and expectation and as well put aside their political differences to help tackle head-on the continue devastating poverty lurking in Ghana.
The overall objective of the workshop, according to the ACEPA concept note is to allow the poverty reduction strategy Committee to understand how the Annual Progress Reports (APRs) of Metropolitans, Municipals, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) work.
Other Resources persons from the Ghana Statistical Services, the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), and officials from the Ministry of Finance, among others, are to take the MPs and Committee members through the two-day workshop.
On his part, the Chairman of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Committee of Parliament, Hon Benson Tongo Baba, charged members to contribute meaningfully so that by the end of the two-day workshop, they would be in a better position to help the nation to fight poverty.
The committee members are expected to assess phase one of the Data Accountability Project (DAP I) and as well share their expectations from Phase two, thus DAP II, that would help inform the development and implementation of programmes and projects in the Medium-Term Development Plans (MTDP).
At the end of the two days workshop, members of the Committee on Poverty Reduction Strategy will be better equipped to interrogate the APRs when submitted to Parliament.
Specifically, the Committee will be better informed on the extent MMDAs APRs inform the programming and plan implementation, understand what informs prioritization of programmes in the face of reduced budgetary releases, and as well be better informed on how they could engender discussions on evidence-informed policy implementation in MMDAs,
Participants are members of the Committee on Poverty Reduction Strategy, district economic planning officers, and budget analysts from two districts that have been invited to join in the training.
The Workshop is expected to end on Sunday, November 20,2022.
Source: expressnewsghana.com
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