Member of Parliament (MP) for Sekondi Papa Owusu Ankomah has applauded the Ghana Anti Corruption Coalition for the introduction of the open contracting guide that will monitor and ensure transparency and value for money in government contracts.

Speaking to JoyNews, Wednesday, the MP, who is also member of the Finance Committee of Parliament noted that the guide would offer members of the public the opportunity to track the progress of contracts awarded all over the country.

"It is not only important for MPs but more particularly for all Ghanaians and I applaud it", he emphasized.

Papa Owusu Ankomah was further of the view that Parliament needs all the assistance that civil society can provide in monitoring government contracts since it is a body mandated to exercise oversight responsibility over the executive.

The MP's comment followed the launch of the contracting guide by the Ghana Anti-corruption Coalition today.

"The guide is expected to provide experiences from over the world about how people have used contract monitoring to unearth certain issues and what processes people should use when they want to monitor contracts", the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Anti-Coalition, Florence Dennis has said.

According to her the guide could be used by anybody to monitor available contracts as "it links between high level professional issues and the lower level issues".

At a stakeholders’ forum, the coalition pointed to a lack of transparency and value for money in some contracts awarded by government.

Florence Dennis therefore asked Ghanaians to show interest in contracts awarded by government to ensure transparency.

A Representative for the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, Mohammed Amin Adam bemoaned the lack of transparency and value for money in contracts signed by governments especially in the oil and gas as well as roads sector.

He pointed out that the 10% revenue that is currently being taken by the country for its oil resources is not worth it, adding that revenue taken from foreign mining companies for its natural resources over three years is nothing to boast of.

"We have been able to receive some revenues so far-  $444M in 2011, $580M in 2012, last year, 2013, $770M. That is not up to $3b in three years...Why is Ghana receiving so little and yet the companies are getting so much in terms of the revenue generated from the exploitation of our resources" Mohammed Amin Adam queried.

He therefore called for seriousness to be attached to contracts signed with oil companies in order for the country to maximize the value of its resources and bring significant development to the people.

"All contracts including open contracts must seek to achieve transparency and accountability", the Representative for the Africa Centre for Energy Policy intimated.