Mahama Ayariga, Majority Leader in Parliament, has dismissed claims by the Minority that the government has failed to present documents on its flagship programmes for parliamentary scrutiny.
Speaking to the media, Mahama Ayariga argued that the Minority has the tools to demand accountability from the executive and should not rely solely on formal submissions to Parliament.
“The tools for getting them to come and brief you on the policies are in your hands,” he said.
“If you want to be reminded, you can ask a minister a question. So the tool of asking questions is for you to bring ministers to the floor of the House to brief you.”
His comments come in response to concerns raised earlier this week by Alexander Afenyo-Markin, Minority Leader, who accused the government of failing to provide Parliament with key documents on major initiatives such as the 24-hour economy programme, the Feed Ghana initiative, and the Big Push infrastructure plan.
But the Majority Leader insisted that these programmes have been launched publicly and widely reported, making information on them accessible.
“You cannot say that as an opposition, it is only when facts are stated in the House that you take them as government policy,” Ayariga stressed.
“Each one of those policies and programmes has been launched. Journalists cover the events and broadcast them.”
He further urged the Minority to take advantage of other sources of information, including media coverage and public documents, to track the progress of government policies.
“You should be reading newspapers. You should be reading the internet. You should be reading the news portals or the various media houses that are covering those events,” he added.