Accra, Oct 28, GNA - The Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) on Friday, announced a capacity building package to enhance parliamentary assessment of fiscal policy.

The programme would set-off on Monday with a roundtable conference on The Role of Parliament in Macroeconomic Policy Formulation in Ghana, Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, Executive Director of IDEG told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra on Friday.

"As you are aware, the return of Ghana to democracy in 1992 meant that economic policy-making stopped being the exclusive preserve of the national executive and became part of a wider arena of policy activities by various stakeholders, including Parliament.

"Against this background, parliamentarians are expected to play a prominent if not a dominant role in national development and the policies that shape it," Dr Akwetey stated.

He said, however, there was a widely held perception that Parliament did not play this role adequately beyond its periodic passage of legislation and the discussion of the national budget, which was only an instrument for translating economic policies into tangible actions and results.

The IDEG Executive Director said the roundtable seeks to generate and engage parliamentarians, the Executive, donor representatives and civil society organisations in a vigorous and dispassionate engagement on the issues.

The Speaker of Parliament would deliver the keynote address, followed by a panel discussion led by the Senior Minister and Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission, the Majority and Minority Leaders in Parliament, the World Bank Country Director, the IMF Resident Representative and some heads of civil society organisations.