Leadership of Parliament proposes national conversation on completing abandoned projects

The Majority and the Minority leaders in Parliament on Sunday reignited discussions on the completion of projects that were left uncompleted in previous regimes.

The two leaders said some development projects started by previous governments but abandoned by successive was a thorny issue which has costed the nation fortunes and suggested how that could be solved to benefit all.

At the beginning of a two-day post-2021 budget workshop for MPs underway in Ho, the Volta Regional Capital, the two leaders though from opposing political camps, expressed the need for a national conversation on how to continue projects that were not completed by previous governments.

The workshop on the theme: “Economic Revitalization through Completion, Consolidation, and Continuity”, would allow the Members of Parliament (MPs) to share thoughts with experts on key aspects of the 2021 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana and its policy intent.

The Budget Statement was presented to the nation through the Parliament of Ghana by the caretaker Finance Minister, who is also the Majority Leader in Parliament on Friday, March 12, 2021, and the workshop is expected to create an opportunity for the MPs to discuss the key points for promoting national development.

It will also provide the MPs with the knowledge to make meaningful contributions to the debate on the 2021 Budget Statement by Parliament which begins on Tuesday, March 2021.

Mr Haruna Iddrisu who is also MP for Tamale South Constituency, concerning some legal provisions reminded the gathering of a national policy decision to complete standing projects.

He suggested that they should include projects by previous governments inherited by opposing political parties.

He suggested that projects should not be initiated if there was not enough monetary provision on resource allocation from the start to completion.

“No projects should come up unless it is supported by adequate monetary and material provisions, the Minority Leader said and suggested that sanctions should be applied to government officials who start a project but did not see through their completion.

Responding, Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu attributed part of the problem of not completing previous projects to the intervention of foot-soldiers.

According to the Majority Leader, successive governments from opposing parties found it difficult to continue with development projects when foot-soldiers intervene and put pressure on current governments not to continue with projects from previous governments as they explained that their parties would not be credited for starting such projects.

To avoid this, successive opposing governments from other parties might not want as he put it to be led into the part of unrighteousness.

Every party, he implied, would therefore want to initiate its projects which might not be completed in its term of office.

Deputy Majority Leader and MP for Effutu, Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin entreated the participants to make contributions on the Budget Statement to make it pass the litmus test to ensure that it is transparent, accountable, and responsive to national goals.