Parliament must build capacity in data use to check Executive – Speaker

Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has reiterated the need for the legislature, as an institution, to build its capacity in how to efficiently make use of data to enhance its effectiveness, particularly in its oversight responsibility for the executive arm of government.

He said this is one sure way to provide returns to the voters who gave them the mandate to be their representatives in parliament.

The Speaker said this in a speech read on his behalf by his Special Advisor, Kofi Attoh, at the official launch of a three-day data fair in parliament on Wednesday, 26 May 2021.

The data fair, which is on the theme: “Achieving effective parliamentary oversight: The role of data and evidence,” was organised by the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), and the International Network for Advancing Science and Policy (INASP)”.

The event will also highlight the significance of statistical data in supporting parliament’s performance of its oversight mandate, including MPs’ oversight of the government’s implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs).

Speaker Bagbin emphasised the need to protect the interests of the Ghanaian voter and also ensure that Ghana remains on the right path to development, growth and prosperity.