Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Minister of Finance, stated that post-budget workshops were relevant to the advantage of government as it provides the opportunity for the legislature to appreciate the issues. “We need all of you on board as we tackle the economic challenges we face. Your contributions and constructive criticisms will be very much appreciated since they will ultimately make our suffering people better off.” He urged the MPs to make time to read the budget and suggest alternatives or better ways they think the budget can be implemented. Dr Duffuor appealed to Parliament to monitor the expenditure of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to help the government achieve its objective of fighting waste in the system. The In-Country Coordinator, Parliamentary Centre, Ms Marilyn Aniwa, said it was necessary for the MPs to hold the MDAs accountable to their work plans and ensure that activities and programmes as outlined in the budget were executed. “If we have learnt any lessons from the recent elections, it is that the electorate is very discerning and has high expectations of government. And the least the government can do is to put its money where its mouth is.” Ms Aniwa added that effective legislatures are crucial not only to democratic governance, but also to sustainable development. The Centre is a non-profit making and non-partisan organization devoted to improving the effectiveness of representative assemblies around the world, she stated. It is now a global leader in parliamentary development with projects that support parliaments in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East and its largest programmes are in Africa. She expressed the hope that the interaction would serve as a basis for public financial accountability, provision of information to parliamentary committees and feed into plenary debates for the final approval of the budget by the House. Source: GNA