The Chairman of the Parliamentary Open Government Partnership (OGP) Caucus, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, together with members of the caucus, paid a courtesy visit to the National OGP Steering Committee to explore avenues for collaboration aimed at ensuring the effective implementation of Ghana’s OGP commitments.
The meeting, which brought together representatives from Parliament and the National Steering Committee, focused on strategies to deepen cooperation in advancing transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in governance.
Among the key issues discussed were strengthening strategic partnerships to advance the OGP agenda, enhancing public awareness and visibility of OGP initiatives, and advocating for increased funding for the Public Sector Reforms Secretariat, which serves as the OGP secretariat in Ghana.
Participants also examined ways to promote greater openness within the Executive and the Judiciary, as well as opportunities for jointly implementing OGP-related programmes. In addition, discussions highlighted the importance of leveraging technology to expand OGP initiatives and improve engagement across parliamentary constituencies.
The Open Government Partnership is a global initiative launched in 2011 to promote transparency, accountability, and inclusiveness in governance. Ghana has been an active member of the partnership, with the Parliament of Ghana playing a pioneering role in advancing OGP principles.
As part of efforts to strengthen parliamentary oversight of the initiative, the Parliamentary OGP Caucus was established in November 2023 by the Speaker, in fulfilment of a commitment under National Action Plan 4. The caucus is composed of Members of Parliament from both the Majority and Minority sides who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing the core pillars of the OGP.
The caucus is mandated to support the effective implementation of Ghana’s national OGP commitments and promote open government principles across administrative processes and systems.
Recognising the OGP National Steering Committee of Ghana, which comprises representatives from government and civil society, as a key stakeholder in advancing open governance, the caucus held this engagement to discuss practical areas of collaboration toward strengthening the implementation of the country’s OGP agenda.