The Theory and Practice of Legislation ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rtpl20 An examination of the role played by Ghana’s legislature in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic Kwame Asamoah & Bennet Kwadzo Nyadzi To cite this article: Kwame Asamoah & Bennet Kwadzo Nyadzi (2022): An examination of the role played by Ghana’s legislature in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Theory and Practice of Legislation, DOI: 10.1080/20508840.2022.2104531 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/20508840.2022.2104531 Published online: 28 Jul 2022. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 18 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rtpl20 THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LEGISLATION https://doi.org/10.1080/20508840.2022.2104531 An examination of the role played by Ghana’s legislature in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic Kwame Asamoah and Bennet Kwadzo Nyadzi Department of Public Administration and Health Services Management, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana ABSTRACT In the wake of the recently emerged COVID-19 pandemic, legislatures were regarded as one of the important government institutions that can help cushion nations against the economic and social disruptions inflicted by the health crises, given the important roles they play in policymaking within political systems. This paper examines the roles played by Ghana’s legislative institution in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper further explores some of the challenges to legislative activities during the height of the pandemic. From a content analysis of a variety of literature drawn from Parliamentary Proceedings, online journal articles, official documents, and news from credible media outlets, we found that Ghana’s legislative institution was crucial to the country’s management of the pandemic as they played important roles such as passing COVID-19 related laws, financial oversight, and providing a check on Executive actions. The main challenge to Parliamentary activities was the demand for rapid legislation, which weakened Parliamentary oversight and scrutiny functions. The study makes some recommendations to strengthen legislative responses to future pandemics. KEYWORDS Legislature; COVID-19; law-making and financial oversight 1. Introduction Since the beginning of the recently emerged COVID-19 pandemic, questions have arisen about the roles of government institutions in dealing with the predicaments engendered by the health crises.1,2,3 Among the various CONTACT Bennet Kwadzo Nyadzi bknyadzi@st.ug.edu.gh Department of Public Administration and Health Services Management, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana 1Tom Ginsburg and Mila Versteeg, ‘The bound executive: Emergency powers during the pandemic’ (2021) 19 (5) International Journal of Constitutional Law 1498-1535. 2Petrov Jan, ‘The COVID-19 emergency in the age of executive aggrandizement: what role for legislative and judicial checks?’ (2020) 8 (1-2) The Theory and Practice of Legislation 71-92. 3Nadiv Mordechay and Yaniv Roznai, ‘Constitutional Crisis in Israel: Coronavirus, Interbranch Conflict, and Dynamic Judicial Review’ (Verfassungsblog, 8 April 2020) accessed 17 June 2021. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group 2 K. ASAMOAH AND B. K. NYADZI government institutions called to duty in the wake of the pandemic, a great deal of attention has been paid to the legislative arm of government given its important role in policymaking within political systems.4,5 At the height of the pandemic, legislative institutions were regarded as very important actors that can play a crucial role in enhancing nations’ resilience against the health crises through the enactment of effective policies to protect the public and support economic growth.6 Their core functions of law- making, representation, and oversight placed them on a pedestal above other governmental branches in enhancing transparency and accountability amid the pandemic.7,8 The role of legislatures in the management of the pandemic stand out as especially important for not only ensuring an inclusive response to the health crises but also safeguarding democratic governance. The latter is of particular importance given the widespread report on considerable democratic back- sliding in about eighty-four (84) countries (comprising both democratic and autocratic states) at the beginning of the pandemic, where the countries were found to have violated democratic standards in their management of the crises.9 Moreover, there is evidence of significant legislative marginalisa- tion during the early periods of the pandemic in some countries, with the Executive branch (consisting of Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Cabinet Ministers) claiming the lion’s share of government power, as priority was given to finding rapid solutions to the varied problems posed by the pan- demic.10 While it was quite conspicuous that the social distancing require- ments were a major impediment to effective legislative activities,11,12 some scholars have also blamed the weaknesses in the constitutional arrangements 4Cormacain Ronan and Ittai Bar-Siman-Tov, ‘Legislatures in the Time of Covid-19’ (2020) 8(1-2) The Theory and Practice of Legislation 3-9. 5Bar-Siman-Tov Ittai, Rozenberg Olivier, Benoît Cyril, Waismel-Manor Israel and Levanon Asaf, ‘Measuring Legislative Activity during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Introducing the ParlAct and ParlTech Indexes’ (2021) 1 (1) International Journal of Parliamentary Studies 109-126. 6‘Parliamentarians have Critical Roles to play in the Fight against COVID-19 and Recovery’ (UNECA, 13 November, 2020) accessed 25 August 2021. 7OECD, Legislative Budget Oversight of Emergency Responses: Experiences During the Coronavirus (COVID 19) Pandemic. OECD Policy Responses to Coronavirus (COVID-19) (OECD Publishing 2020) 8Rebecca Gordon and Nic Cheeseman, ‘Legislative Leadership in the Time of COVID-19’ (2021) University of Birmingham 9V-Dem Institute (2020). Pandemic Backsliding: Democracy and Disinformation Seven Months into the Covid-19 Pandemic. 18Windholz Eric L. ‘Governing in a pandemic: from parliamentary sovereignty to autocratic technocracy,’ (2020) 8 (1-2) The Theory and Practice of Legislation 93–113 19OECD (n 7). 20Addadzi-Koom Maame Efua, ‘Quasi-state of Emergency: Assessing the Constitutionality of Ghana’s Leg- islative Response to Covid-19’ (2020) 8(3) The Theory and Practice of Legislation 311-327. 4 K. ASAMOAH AND B. K. NYADZI Figure 1. Pandemic Democratic Violations Index (March to September 2020) – Ghana (Arrowed) Source: V-Dem Institute (2020). arm of government inGhana responded to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as some of the challenges posed by the pandemic on their activities. We do so by asking the followingquestions:What role has the legislative armof government played in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana?What were some of the challenges to legislative activities during the height of the COVID- 19 pandemic in Ghana? The study further makes some policy recommen- dations to strengthen legislative responses to future pandemics. The study relied on secondary sources of data, mainly drawn from online journal articles, scholarly books, credible and reliable online news sources, and official documents and reports (such as Proceedings of Parliament21 and budget statements). The qualitative research design, particularly content analysis, was adopted to provide a rich analysis. Content analysis is defined as, ‘any technique for making inferences by objectively and system- atically identifying specified characteristics of messages’ (p.14).22 Content analysis does not only enable researchers to easily sift through large volumes of data but also allows them to discover and describe the focus of social attention.23 This study sifts various secondary sources of data to describe the roles played by Ghana’s legislative branch in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as some of the challenges they faced. 2. COVID-19 in Ghana Ghana confirmed its first two (2) cases of Covid-19 on March 12, 2020, all being imported cases from Norway and Turkey 21Parliament of Ghana Proceedings can be accessed from 22Holsti Ole R., ‘Content Analysis for the Social Sciences and Humanities’ (Addison-Wesley, 1969). 23Weber Robert Philip, Basic Content Analysis (2nd edn, Sage Publishing 1990). THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LEGISLATION 5 respectively.24 Within three days, the country’s case count increased to six.25 With the gradual increase in cases, coupled with burgeoning cases in three neighbouring countries (Burkina Faso, Benin and Togo), the gov- ernment took a proactive step by committing US$100 million to aid pre- paredness and response.26 On March 28, 2020, enhanced and austere measures were taken following a surge in COVID-19 cases (137 cases including four fatalities as of the evening of March 27, 2020). The Presi- dent announced a 14-days partial lockdown in four urban areas (Accra, Tema, Kasoa and Kumasi), where significant numbers of infections were recorded. This was bolstered by the IRA, 2020 (Act 1012), which restricted the movement of all persons in the affected areas. Citizens were permitted to go out only for the purchasing of essential items, such as food, medi- cine, and water, or to visit the bank and places of convenience. The only exemption was for individuals and institutions providing essential services (such as health sector workers; members of the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary; and citizens engaged in services like production, distribution, and marketing of food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, medicine, paper, and plastic packages).27 These measures were preceded by a ban on all public gatherings. The impact of the pandemic and its consequences were felt by many. An August 2020 joint report by the World Bank, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) revealed that about 777,000 workers (representing 25.7% of the total workforce) had their wages reduced while about 42,000 workers were laid off during the COVID-19 lockdown in the country. In addition, about 700,000 employ- ees had their working hours reduced.28 To safeguard Ghanaians against the adverse impact of the pandemic, the government rolled out several social and economic policies, such as the waving of electricity bills for all lifeline con- sumers who consume between 0–50 kilowatt-hours per month while other categories of consumers enjoined a 50% slash over the period, the waiving of water bills, food sharing to the poor and vulnerable, and stimulus package and soft loans to businesses.29 24‘For Immediate Release: Ghana Confirms Two Cases of COVID-19’ (Ghana Health Service, 12 March 2020) accessed 3 June 2021. 25‘Coronavirus: Ghana confirm 4 new cases of Covid-19’ (BBC News, 15 March 2020) accessed 4 July 2021. 26‘Coronavirus: Akufo-Addo release $100 million dollars for Ghana Covid-19 disease response plan’ (BBC News, 12 March 2020) accessed 4 July 2021. 27‘Parts of Ghana to be on lockdown from Monday’ (MyJoyonline, 27 March 2020) accessed 17 June 2021. 28‘Ghana COVID-19 Business Tracker Report’ (UNDP, 3 August 2020). accessed 25 August 2021. 29MoF, The 2020 Mid-Year Review and Supplementary Estimate (MoF 2020 Publication) 6 K. ASAMOAH AND B. K. NYADZI Ghana’s management of the pandemic has seen a multiplicity of actors (such as political parties, associations, corporate institutions and media houses) playing crucial and varied roles in boosting the country’s response to the crises. For the executive and legislative arms of government, the man- agement of the pandemic was a bit challenging not only because of its novelty but also given that the country was a few months away from a very competi- tive general election when the first two COVID-19 cases were recorded. Despite the daunting task, both branches have played very crucial roles in managing the health crises. 3. Composition and the roles of Ghana’s legislative arm of government As stipulated in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana (Chapter 10),30 the legisla- tive power is vested in Parliament, which is responsible for making laws. Par- liament is made up of representatives of each constituency in the country (currently 275), who are elected through popular vote and have a four- year term tenure of office. Parliament is led by a Speaker, who is in charge of all proceedings of the House. Apart from its law-making functions, Parlia- ment performs other incidental functions, including financial functions, oversight of the executives, deliberative functions and representational func- tions. Given the quantum of roles that Parliament needs to perform, Members of Parliament (MPs) sit on various Committees of Parliament and are charged with several functions. There are generally three main types of Committees: Standing Committee, Select Committee and Ad Hoc Committee. Standing Committees are responsible for all matters of impor- tance to the House, such as national security and agricultural development. Select Committees are responsible for scrutinising the management and expenditure of the various public agencies. An Ad Hoc Committee has the responsibility to investigate matters of significance to the public, those that do not fall under the remit of Select Committees. Parliament’s functions are exercised through several mechanisms, such as ceremonial speeches, motions and questions to ministers.31 4. Extant literature on the roles of legislatures in the management of COVID-19 pandemic Across the globe, legislatures faced significant operational disruptions during the early phase of the pandemic stemming from public health concerns. A 30The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, accessed 5 February 2021. 31The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana (n 30). THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LEGISLATION 7 study by the OECD titled: ‘Legislative budget oversight of emergency responses: Experiences during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic’ high- lighted some of the major disruptions to legislative work during the pan- demic, such as high incidences of contraction and exposure to the virus among Parliamentarians, suspension of meetings and restricted access to Parliaments, difficulties in adjusting to new technologies and remote working by Parliamentarians and their support staff, disruptions to annual budget submission and reporting cycle, and disruptions to Parliaments caught in the middle of government formation or transition when the pan- demic hit.32 Nevertheless, some legislatures across the world demonstrated resilience in overcoming these operational challenges by adopting new pro- cedures and ways of working, such as electronic voting, virtual sittings, telecon- ference question periods, virtual committee meetings, reduction in the number ofMPs present at a sitting or committee meetings to allow sufficient distancing, limit to the number and length of speeches, and the adoption of fast-tracked approval procedures. In countries such as Brazil, Ukraine, Czech Republic, New Zealand, the UK, Belgium, Switzerland and France, lawmakers adopted realistic and incremental approaches to maintaining effective oversight, trans- parency and accountability in the public sphere amid the pan- demic.33,34,35,36,37,38 Their activities included pre-budget debates, reviewing audit reports, scrutinising of budget in line with fiscal rules and medium and longer-term constraints, questioning government officials, and compelling information from the government to put into the public sphere. In other countries (such as Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal and Australia), however, there was less scrutinisation by legislatures owing to constitutional provisions that gave the Executive branch the right to spend without ex-ante Parliament approval in situations of national interest or emergency.39 Nevertheless, some rooms were made for legislative scrutinisa- tion. In some countries, however, there were instances of abuse of power by the executive branch. In Hungary, for instance, the Prime Minister was said to have extended the ‘Enabling Act’ (that gives him the power to govern by Executive decree) for an indefinite period, with critics claiming that the new law brought ‘koronadiktatúra’ (corona dictatorship) to the country.40 In 32OECD (n 7). 33Petrove (n 2). 34OECD (n 7). 35Griglio (n 17). 36Windholz (n 18). 37Gordon and Cheeseman (n 8). 38Uhlmann Felix and Eva Scheifele, ‘Legislative Response to Coronavirus (Switzerland)’ (2020) 8 (1-2) The Theory and Practice of Legislation 115–130 39OECD (n 7). 40‘Will the Law Just Enacted Bring ‘Koronadiktatúra’ to Hungary?’ (Hungarian Spectrum, 30 March 2020) accessed 1 July 2021. 8 K. ASAMOAH AND B. K. NYADZI Nepal, Gordon and Cheeseman (2021) reported on how a 57-year-old out- dated Infectious Diseases Act was invoked, giving the Executive ultimate power to operate without any scrutinisation role for Parliament or its commit- tees. The action saw an overwhelming critique of the government, coupled with public protests (the ‘Enough is Enough’ protest). Despite the challenges to effective legislative activities during the height of the pandemic, individual legislators (particularly from the opposition party) were said to have been instrumental in providing oversight and scrutiny functions through commit- tees and social media.41 Moreover, in some other countries, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and local political leaders were instrumental in checking on executive power, thereby filling the institutional voids left by legislatures.42,43 5. The roles of Ghana’s legislative branch in themanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic Unlike in some countries, where legislatures faced significant operational disruptions during the early phases of the pandemic, Ghana’s Parliament appeared to have had some level of grip on the situation partly because the country adopted pandemic-related measures quite early. At the begin- ning of the pandemic, pragmatic measures were adopted by the law- making institution to avert any possible introduction and spread of the virus in the House. They included a mandatory wearing of facial masks in Parliament, mandatory use of hand sanitisers, and a mandatory Coronavirus test for all MPs and Parliamentary staff. It was not until February 2021 that Parliament had to partially shut down for three weeks over a surge in COVID-19 cases, involving 17 lawmakers and 151 support sta .44ff In the management of the pandemic, Ghana’s Parliament performed several roles, such as law-making, financial oversight, deliberative activities, and Parliamentary-committee activities. These roles are expounded below. 5.1. Law-making roles At the height of the pandemic, four major laws were passed by Parliament to facilitate Ghana’s response: The IRA, 2020 (Act 1012); The COVID-19 41Gordon and Cheeseman (n 8). 42Gordon and Cheeseman (n 8). 43Arslan Ahmad, Kamara Samppa, Golgeci Ismail and Tarba Shlomo Yedidia, ‘Civil society organisations management dynamics and social value creation in the post-conflict volatile contexts pre and during COVID-19’ (2021) 30 (7) International Journal of Organizational Analysis 20-33. 44‘Ghana Parliament shuts down over COVID outbreak among MPs, staff’ (Aljazeera English, 9 February 2021) accessed 4 July 2021. THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LEGISLATION 9 National Trust Fund Act, 2020 (Act 1013); the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy, 2021 (Act 1068); and the Penalty and Interest Waiver Act 2021 (Act 1065). The passage of some of these Acts saw resistance from the Minority Caucus of Parliament while others saw a near-consensus from both the min- ority and majority sides. The purpose and the processes involved in the passage of the Acts are discussed below. 5.1.1. The IRA, 2020 (Act 1012)45 The IRA was enacted based on the President’s directive on March 15, 2020, to the then Attorney-General to introduce ‘emergency legislation’ to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.46 The five-page bill was passed by Parliament on March 20, 2020, after undergoing a two-day intensive amendment procedure in the Parliament House under a Certificate of Emergency (in accordance with Article 21 [4] [c] and [d] of the 1992 Constitution). Generally, the IRA gives the President the ultimate power to impose restrictions in times of state emergencies. Despite the considerable amendments made to the bill by Parliament (in areas such as the sanctions regime and the duration of restrictions), its passage was met with a lot of backlashes from the public, especially among politicians (particularly the Minority Caucus of Parliament), who raised legitimate concerns about the legality and necessity of the bill.47 One of the key controversial aspects of the passage of the IRA was that the memor- andum which accompanied the bill did not mention COVID-19 as its focus. This, according to the Minority, does not merit the ‘urgency’ attached to the process to get it passed.48 In response to this concern, the then Attorney General and Minister of Justice clarified to Parliament that the emphasis is creating a bill for legislation that will deal not only with COVID-19 but future pandemics.49 The Minister was however not able to clarify other lapses in the bill. One of such lapses, as pointed out by the Minority in Parliament, is Section 2 (1), which vested in the President the power to impose restrictions by an Execu- tive Instrument in accordance with the advice of a ‘relevant person or body.’ The challenge is that the IRA does not define who and what constitutes the said ‘relevant person or body.’ This opens the bill to abuse since the President 45The IRA accessed 29 July 2021. 46Agyeman Nana Konadu, ‘Attorney General Seeks Legal Backing to COVID-19 Directives’ (Graphic Online, 19 March 2020) accessed 20 June 2021. 47Opoku Duke Mensah, ‘Parliament Passes IRA’ (Citi Newsroom, 20 March 2020) accessed 4 April 2021. 48Agyeman Nana Konadu, ‘Parliament Passes the IRA, 2020’ (Graphic Online, 21 March 2020) accessed 20 June 2021. 49Agyeman (46). 10 K. ASAMOAH AND B. K. NYADZI may choose to ignore that provision as it lacks a rigorous basis of assess- ment.50 The Minority again raised concerns about the superfluousness of the bill, arguing that it is hard to see any lawful warrant for resorting to the bill since it fills no void in the existing laws available to the President to fight pandemics (such as the Emergency Powers Act, 1994 [Act 472], the Public Health Act, 2012 [Act 851] and Article 31 of the 1992 Constitution).51 The Minority also challenged the use of ‘voice count’ to pass the bill. They subsequently expressed their intention to seek an interpretation of the con- stitutional provision for voting in Parliament (Article 104 of the 1992 Con- stitution) at the country’s highest court (the Supreme Court).52 The Minority further raised concerns about the President’s ultimate power as the sole decider of shortening or extending the duration of restrictions as well as the lack of time limit on when the provisions of the Act would be lifted.53,54 The overwhelming objections by the Minority against the bill did not hinder its passage. It became a full binding law and served as the legal ground upon which a three-week lockdown was imposed in the country amid the pandemic. 5.1.2. The COVID-19 National Trust Fund (CNTF) Act, 2020 (Act 1013) The CNTF Act was laid in Parliament on the night of April 1, 2020, by the then Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. Parliament sat late into the night to get the bill passed under the Certificate of Emergency (just like the IRA) on April 2, 2020.55 Generally, the bill gave the legal backing for the establishment of a COVID-19 National Trust Fund to receive public con- tributions (in-kind and cash) to complement the government’s efforts to improve the lives of individuals and households that were worst-hit by the pandemic.56 The bill also made provisions for how the Trust Fund should be managed. The Fund saw massive donations from the public. The President and his Vice led the way by donating three months of their salaries to the Trust Fund, followed by all Ministers of State and some government appointees who 50Addadzi-Koom (n 20). 51Adogla-Bessa Delali, ‘Imposition of Restrictions Bill not in Ghana’s interest – Muntaka’ (Citi Newsroom, 19 March 2020) accessed 4 April 2021. 52Mordy Jerry Tsatro, ‘Minority signals Supreme Court action after rushed Restriction Bill approval’ (MyJoyonline, 20 March 2020) accessed 17 June 2021. 53Agyeman (46). 54Addadzi-Koom (n 20). 55‘Speaker Oquaye donates half of his three months’ salary to COVID-19 fund’ (Parliament of Ghana, 2 April 2020) accessed 20 August 2021. 56Opoku Duke Mensah, ‘Parliament passes COVID-19 National Trust Fund Bill’ (Citi Newsroom, 3 April 2020) accessed 4 April 2021. THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LEGISLATION 11 donated 50% of their salaries. Parliament also contributed GH¢ 200,000, with the then Speaker of the House also donating half of his three months’ salary.57 Unlike the IRA Act, the CNTF saw little resistance from the Min- ority Caucus and the general public since the Trust Fund was seen as germane to the country’s management of the pandemic. 5.1.3. COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy (HRL), 2021, Act 106858 The COVID-19 HRL Act was passed by Parliament on March 30, 2021, and was assented by the President the next day. The Act forms part of a series of tax measures introduced by the government in the 2021 Budget Statement to raise revenue to support the COVID–19 expenditures and other associated matters. The Act imposes a 1% levy on the supply of goods and services made in Ghana. The levy was also imposed on imports of goods and services into the country. It applies to all Standard Rate and Flat Rate registered persons and organisations. Just like the IRA, the passage of the HRL Act was met with vehement resistance from the Minority Caucus of Parliament. On the day of the passage, the Minority Leader stated that his side could not support the Act due to the inability of the Ministry of Health to account for how other COVID-19-related funds (such as the financial facilities from the Bretton Woods Institutions and those mobilised through the COVID-19 Trust Fund) were utilised at the height of the pandemic.59 He argued that the gov- ernment had spent lavishly under the guise of managing the pandemic, which makes it difficult to accept the prudence to be exhibited in the man- agement of the HRL. He further contended that the HRL Act did not expli- citly indicate how the potential revenue is to be utilised. He again added that the new levy makes no distinction between the rich and the poor, and defeats the ruling party’s manifesto promise of moving from taxation to production. According to him, the new levy will only exacerbate the hardship on Ghanaians.60 The Minority’s resistance, however, was not absent of rebuttals from the Majority side. First, the Minister of Health (also an MP on the Majority side) argued that it was too premature to ‘demand accountability over a pandemic that is not yet over’.61 In the same manner, the Majority Leader, while 57Parliament of Ghana (n 53). 58The HRL Act, 2021, Act 1068 assessed 8 August 2021. 59Darko Kenneth Awotwe, ‘Parliament approves Covid-19 Health Recovery Levy despite Minority’s resist- ance’ (MyJoyonline, 30 March 2021) accessed 17 June 2021. 60‘Parliament approves Coronavirus Health Recovery Levy amid Minority Resistance’ (Ghanaweb, 31 March 2021) accessed 23 June 2021. 61Darko (n 57). 12 K. ASAMOAH AND B. K. NYADZI acknowledging the need for a strategy for the management of the levy, elu- cidated that the novel nature of the virus and its related issues and unstable expenditure ‘will impede efforts to compartmentalise the uses of the new Covid-19 levy’.62 The bill was passed through a voice vote. 5.1.4. Penalty and Interest Waiver (PIW) Act 2021 (Act 1065)63 The PIW Act was passed together with the HRL Act on March 30, 2021. Given the adverse economic impact of the pandemic on the economy, the PIW Act was established to give some relief to taxpayers and to also encou- rage early payment of accumulated tax arrears. The bill scraped all penalties and interests accrued on tax defaults up to December 31, 2020. The waiver applied to both registered and non-registered persons and businesses. Just like the CNTF bill, the passage of the PIW Act encountered very little resist- ance from the Minority side of Parliament. 5.2. Financial roles and oversight Ghana’s legislative institution also performed some financial roles and over- sight in the management of the pandemic. Key among the roles was the approval of loans and other financial facilities to boost the country’s response to the crises. For instance, the House approved a US$100 million facility and another US$1 billion facility from the Breton Woods Institutions to facilitate the government’s management of the health crises.64 On April 1, 2020, the House again approved the financing agreement between the government of Ghana and the International Development Association (IDA) for an amount of US$35.00 Million to finance the country’s COVID-19 emergency preparedness and response project.65 Parliament also approved a request by the Minister of Finance to lower the cap on the country’s Stabilisation Fund from US$300 million to US$100 million to support the country’s Corona- virus Alleviation Programme (CAP) - a programme aimed at protecting livelihoods, supporting small businesses and sustaining jobs.66 Parliament also played an important role in monitoring and demanding accountability on how the above funds were expended – oversight roles. 62Darko (n 57). 63The PIW Act accessed 8 August 2021. 64IMF, Ghana: Request for Disbursement Under the Rapid Credit Facility-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Ghana (IMF 2020 Publication) 65Parliamentary Proceedings (1 April 2020) accessed 20 August 2021. 66‘Government to utilize US$200 million from stabilization fund’ (Ghanaweb, 3 April 2020) accessed 23 June 2021. THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LEGISLATION 13 Particularly, the Minority Caucus of Parliament was vociferous in demand- ing from the government an account of all expenditure related to COVID-19. For example, on May 8, 2020, the Minority organised a press conference, demanding an audit of all COVID-19-related expenses. The group accused the government of misapplying funds and failing to recognise the serious- ness of the disease.67 In the same year, the Minority threatened to initiate censure procedures against the Minister of Finance for violating Section Two of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2018, which states that ‘the overall fiscal balance on the cash basis for a particular year shall not exceed a deficit of five percent of Gross Domestic Product for that year.’68 This was after the Minister had requested a revision in the budget deficit from 4.7% of GDP to 11.4% for the 2020 fiscal year, citing the changes made to the country’s total revenue and expenditure in the light of the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic as the major rationale.69 It took the intervention of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, who defended the Minister’s request, also citing the pandemic as the reason.70 In June 2021, the Minority called for an independent probe into a COVID-19 vaccine procurement contract between the government of Ghana and two businessmen.71 Their call came at the back of a report from Verdens Gang, a Norwegian tabloid newspaper, which reported that the government of Ghana had requested to purchase 3.4 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine through two businessmen at an outrageous cost of $19 per dose instead of $10 per dose on the international market.72 Sub- sequently, a nine-member Parliamentary Adhoc Committee was consti- tuted to thoroughly investigate the matter. After several days of rigorous scrutinisation by the Committee, which saw many key actors involved in the contract (including the Minister of Health) appearing before the Com- mittee, the findings pointed to several issues of impropriety in the procure- ment deal, corroborating the Verdens Gang report. The key findings included a failure to obtain Parliamentary approval, signing of agreements without cabinet endorsement, and a failure to seek Public Procurement 67Accounts for COVID-19 related funds – Minority demands (GhanaMatters, 8 May 2020) accessed 3 June 2021. 68Petetsi Julius Yao, ‘Minority threatens to trigger censure processes to remove Finance Minister’ (Gha- naian Times, July 31, 2020) accessed 16 June 2021. 69MoF, Statement on The Economic Impact of The Covid-19 Pandemic on The Economy of Ghana (MoF 2020 Publication) 70‘Ghana: Parliament Approves Suspension of Fiscal Responsibility Rule for Year 2020’ (Ghanaian Times, August 7, 2021) accessed 16 September 2021. 71Affre Cornerlis Kweku, ‘Minority files motion for probe into Covid-19 vaccine procurement’ (MyJoyon- line, 18 June 2021) accessed 17 August 2021. 72‘Sputnik for Sale’ (Verdens Gang, 3 June 2021) accessed 25 August 2021. 14 K. ASAMOAH AND B. K. NYADZI Authority (PPA) approval for the deals. The Minister of Health was also found to have lied under Oath that no money has been paid when almost $2.85 million (being half the contract sum of $5.7 million) had been paid.73 The findings of the Committee generated a massive public outcry (led by the Minority in Parliament) for the initiation of criminal charges against the Minister of Health while others called for his immedi- ate resignation.74 These calls seem not to have abated even after the Min- ister of Health managed to obtain a refund of US$ 2,470,000 from one of the businessmen for non-supplied doses.75 5.3. Activities of Parliamentary committees Some Parliamentary Committees were also found to have played impor- tant roles in Ghana’s management of the pandemic. They are the Commit- tee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs (CCLPA); the Finance Committee; and Select Committee on Health. The CCLPA, among other things, was responsible for determining the urgency or otherwise of the IRA76,77and the CNTF Act.78 Made up of MPs from both the Minority and Majority sides of Parliament, the CCLPA met with key actors from the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General’s Department (headed by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and her deputy) for this important task. After several deliberations and recommendations for amendments, the Committee, by Majority decision, agreed that the bills were ‘urgent’ in the light of the devastating threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Finance Committee was also instrumental in Ghana’s management of the pandemic. Among other things, the Committee deliberated on and approved a series of COVID-19-related financial Policies and Acts (such as the US$1.0 billion loan agreement between the 73’Sputnik-V Scandal: Parliamentary Committee report points out inconsistencies’ (The Fourth Estate, 9 August 2021) accessed 13 August 2021. 74Agyemang Hanson, ‘Calls for Agyeman-Manu to resign over Sputnik V fiasco intensify’ (Citi Newsroom, 9 August 2021) accessed 25 November 2021. 75’Sheikh Al Maktoum refunds Ghana’s balance for non-supplied Sputnik V vaccines’ (MyJoyonline, 13 August 2021) accessed 21 August 2021. 76Report of The Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs (March 19, 2020). Deter- mination of The Urgency or Otherwise of the Imposition of Restrictions Bill, 2020 (Assessed 16 August 2021). 78Parliamentary Proceedings (2 April 2020) accessed 20 August 2021. THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LEGISLATION 15 government of Ghana and the IMF)79 and the passage of the HRL and PIW Bills80 before they were presented to the House for voting. On May 1, 2020, the Committee requested from Parliament a waiver of three tax components (VAT - 12.5%; the Ghana Education Trust Fund [GETFund] Levy – 2.5%; and the National Health Insurance Levy [NHIL] – 2.5%) on the cost of donations of stocks of equipment and goods as relief supplies for fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic.81 The House approved the request, which bolstered the country’s management of the pandemic. The Health Committee, among other things, played supervisory and monitoring roles in the implementation of COVID-19-related health pol- icies, such as the health policies underpinning Ghana’s loan programme with the IDA.82 They also collaborated with the Ministry of Health to estab- lish various COVID-19-related policies (under the World Health Organis- ation regulations) and public health emergency management structures at the national, regional and district levels. The Committee also played super- visory roles, such as touring the country’s International Airport to monitor the testing procedures for arrivals.83 The activities of the above-listed Parlia- mentary Committees were crucial to the country’s effective management of the health crises. 6. Challenges to Parliamentary activities during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic Regardless of the important roles they played in the management of the pan- demic, Ghana’s legislature was bedevilled with some challenges. Firstly, the Executives appeared to have overemphasised the exigencies of the pandemic by not providing sufficient accountability of the COVID-19 funds, which weakened Parliament’s financial oversight roles. This seemed to have created environments for corruption and misuse of public funds. Although 79Parliamentary Proceedings (17 April 2020) accessed 20 August 2021. 80Parliamentary Proceedings (29 April 2020) accessed 20 August 2021. 81Parliamentary Proceedings (1 May 2020) accessed 20 August 2021. 82World Bank, International Development Association Project Appraisal Document on A Proposed Credit in The Amount of SDR 25.5 Million (Us$ 35 Million Equivalent) To the Republic of Ghana For a Ghana Covid- 19 Emergency Preparedness and Response (World Bank 2020 Publication) (Pg. 42). 83‘Parliamentary Select Committee on Health satisfied with Covid-19 procedures at KIA’ (MyJoyonline, 27 May 2021) accessed 17 June 2021. 16 K. ASAMOAH AND B. K. NYADZI the 2021 Budget Statement offered some details on the usage of the COVID- 19 funds,84 a corruption risk assessment report by one of the nation’s inde- pendent CSOs, Community Development Alliance (CDA-Ghana), found that the government’s management of the COVID-19 funds was plagued with some irregular procurement practices and significant breaches of the country’s anti-corruption laws.85 The report, among other things, revealed how the Minister of Finance appeared to have relied on some provisions in the country’s Public Procurement Act86 to circumvent the law in the award of contracts during the pandemic, resulting in the award of contracts to favourites. The report also cited several instances of non-accountability of COVID-19 funds by some governmental agencies. Unsurprisingly, the public has raised eyebrows over the price tags attached to some of the government’s COVID-19 expenditures. For instance, when the Minister of Finance announced on July 23, 2020, that the government had spent GH¢ 54.3 million on the distri- bution of hot meals to the underprivileged during the country’s three- week COVID-19 lockdown, many Ghanaians took to social media to express their doubts and also mock the cost, claiming that it was too out- rageous, inflated and exposes the government’s corrupt practices.87 Finally, it appeared that the Minority Caucus of Parliament was margin- alised on some occasions. For instance, when the Minority Caucus requested further information and clarity on some of the COVID-19-related policies formulated by the Executives (in particular, the IRA and HRL Acts), as well as the government’s management of the pandemic,88 little or no expla- nations were offered by the Executives. Since the ruling government had the Majority in Parliament, they seemed to have capitalised on their numerical advantage in Parliamentary votes to get some of the controversial policies and bills passed anyways, despite the fact that on some occasions, other important policy actors like the Media, CSOs, Academicians and interested Ghanaians corroborated the concerns raised by the Minority.89 To some 84MoF, The Budget Statement and Economic Policy of The Government of Ghana for the 2021 Financial Year (MoF 2021 Publication) (Pg. 75-80). 85CDA-Ghana, Strengthening Covid-19 Accountability Mechanisms (SCAM) – Corruption Risk Assessment (CDA-Ghana 2021 Publication). 86Section 14 (1a) of the PPA vests power in the Minister of Finance to use a different procurement pro- cedure that the Minister believes is in the national interest. 87‘Ghanaians doubt, shocked by GH¢54.3m price tag for coronavirus free food’ (Ghanaweb, 24 July 2020) accessed 23 June 2021. 88MyJoyonline.com (May 7, 2020). Minority Leader’s speech on Ghana’s Covid-19 situation and national response. assessed 18 August 2021). In that speech, the Minority, among other matters, accused the government of disinformation relating to the pandemic. In this view, social media was widely circulated with the news that the government was deliberately reporting high COVID-19 figures to attract support from the World Bank. 89See Addadzi-Koom (n 20). THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LEGISLATION 17 extent, this highlights the partisan biases in the country’s Parliamentary procedures. 7. Discussion The above findings show that as in some countries, such as Brazil, the Czech Republic, and the UK,90,91,92,93,94 Ghana’s legislative branch played impor- tant roles in the country’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic. The various COVID-19-related bills and policies passed by the law-making body contributed massively to the country’s management of the health crises. For instance, within two months of the passage of the CNTF Act, the Fund mobilised GH¢53,911,249.87 from individuals, companies and groups, among others. The mobilised funds helped in the acquisition of Per- sonal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other medical equipment to resource frontline workers. Out of the same Fund, the government was able to support two important agencies - The National Commission for Civic Education, and the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research - to enhance COVID-19-related public sensitisation programmes and conduct studies on the impact of the pandemic in some districts across the country respect- ively.95 Similarly, the passage of the PIW Act has helped businesses and indi- viduals deal with the impact of the pandemic by giving them some financial relief.96 Again, the financial facilities approved by Parliament bolstered the govern- ment’s several interventions that helped sustain the economy as much as poss- ible. Concerning financial oversight, the Minority Caucus of Parliament stands out for exhibiting dogged determination in putting pressure on the Executives to account for COVID-19-related expenditures through several mediums, such as Press Conferences, Parliamentary Debates and Radio Discussions. Their activities were instrumental in putting a check on the government and contributed to exposing the legal violations in the COVID-19 vaccine pro- curement contract between the government of Ghana and two foreign busi- nessmen. Such scrutinisation during national emergencies is crucial to reducing incidences of corruption and misuse of public funds. The deliberative activities by the various Parliamentary Committees on the emergency policies and bills were also necessary to enrich and legitimize 90Petrove (n 2). 91OECD (n 7). 92Griglio (n 17). 93Windholz (18). 94Gordon and Cheeseman (n 8). 95MoF (n 29). 96Mireku Anita Kissi, ‘GRA urges businesses to take advantage of Penalty and Interest Waiver Act, 2021’ (Citi Newsroom, July 22, 2021) accessed 25 March 2022. 18 K. ASAMOAH AND B. K. NYADZI the measures. The Committees provided useful feedback and recommen- dations that helped in amending and redressing some of the inconsistencies and legal deficiencies in the emergency measures, thereby ensuring their via- bility. This can increase public trust since the citizens know that the emer- gency measures have been duly scrutinised by their representatives.97 Since MPs are the official mouthpiece of their constituencies, their deliberations on matters related to the pandemic revealed underlying tensions in the public about the government’s response to the health crises, which helped foster consensus, compromise and reconciliation on matters involving an array of COVID-19 policy issues. From the above narratives, Parliament has shown its relevance as an inte- gral government institution in modern democratic politics, especially in periods of national crises. It served as the major institution where important issues of the state regarding the management of the pandemic were discussed and deliberated. By influencing government policies, particularly in the areas of health, economic, social, and fiscal management, Ghana’s legislative insti- tution has meaningfully helped in not only reducing the spread of the virus but protecting businesses and more importantly, the poor and vulnerable. With the executive branch tasked with setting and proposing policy direc- tions, Parliament played a crucial role in scrutinising those policies in order to generate more effective public policies. Their roles were also critical in safeguarding democratic governance in the sense that they, to some extent, prevented excessive executive aggrandisement through their scrutinisation activities. Essentially, they helped in deepening transparency and account- ability, fostering public value creation, and building public trust at such a time. In this regard, Ghana’s Parliament helped in providing an inclusive governmental response to the pandemic while protecting democratic governance. The challenges to effective Parliamentary activities (particularly regarding Executive oversight and scrutiny functions) during the pandemic can largely be attributed to the nature of the pandemic, which called for rapid responses and legislation (such as the IRA and the CNTF, all of which were passed under a Certificate of Emergency). As such, there was little room for the usual rigorous Parliamentary scrutinisation. Yet, more could have been done to ensure proper accountability of COVID-19-related funds. The issue regarding the perceived marginalisation of the Minority Caucus in Par- liament could be justified on the basis that the early periods of the pandemic in Ghana were rife with extreme competition for political advantage given the forthcoming elections (in December 2020).98 In this regard, some of 97Petrove (n 2). 98Tabong, Philip Teg-Nefaah, and Martin Segtub. ‘Misconceptions, misinformation and politics of COVID- 19 on social media: A multi-level analysis in Ghana’ (2021) 6 Frontiers in Communication. THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LEGISLATION 19 the concerns raised by the opposition party (which was the Minority in Par- liament) were mostly seen as an attempt to score political points. Yet, some of the concerns were valid and ought to have been treated with utmost urgency and seriousness by the government of the day. 8. Conclusion Arguably, no more arduous task was ever thrown upon government insti- tutions in recent times than that brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Legislative activities in complex crises such as pandemics, as observed in this study, can be challenging, and fraught with extraordinary levels of uncertainty and complexity. This study has revealed how the legislative branch of government in Ghana, regardless of the challenges posed by the pandemic, was not only essential in making and approving COVID-19- related bills and policies to aid the government’s response strategy but did their best in scrutinising the activities of the Executives to ensure that they conformed with acceptable governmental standards. Nevertheless, the activi- ties of the lawmakers were challenged by the need for quick legislation, which limited their rigorous scrutinisation and oversight functions. There were also hints of Minority Caucus marginalisation. This points to the need for more robust mechanisms in tackling future pandemics. Ghana’s management of the pandemic has seen a multiplicity of actors (such as political parties, associations, corporate institutions and media houses) playing crucial and varied roles in boosting the country’s response to the crises. Future studies can explore the roles played by other actors (both state and non-state actors) other than the legislative arm of government in Ghana’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic. 9. Recommendations Based on the findings, we propose the following recommendations to further strengthen legislative responses to future pandemics. 1. Upholding Accountability in Crises: Parliament has a fundamental role in holding government to account, and this important role ought to be observed even in periods of state emergencies. It is the responsibility of the government of the day to offer Parliament opportunities to scrutinise how state funds were spent. While it is understandable that this task can be daunting during social emergencies such as COVID-19, it is required to prevent abuse and excess by the Executives, especially given the huge amounts of money usually injected into economies during such periods. Ghana can learn from Canada, where all budgetary spending during the pandemic was strictly subjected to Parliamentary 20 K. ASAMOAH AND B. K. NYADZI scrutinisation, be it ex-ante or ex-post.99 Additionally, spending govern- ment departments and officials during social emergencies needs to be open and transparent to Parliament, and must be cooperative when it comes to Parliamentary scrutiny. Another strategy is making such spend- ing departments and officials give an account of their usage of state resources through regular press briefings. There is also the need for pol- itical commitment to sanction those who falter accountability standards. 2. Broad Consultations: In periods of national crises, the government has to be open to suggestions from all relevant actors, stakeholders and inter- est groups, particularly from the Minority party. Their views are not only necessary to ensure an inclusive response strategy but also to improve public monitoring and review of government actions or/and inactions, as well as for policy improvements. Government must simply respond as a listening government as and when such stakeholders make their com- ments or there could be planned public forums to elicit such views. 3. Equipping Parliament with Technological Tools: While the Ghanaian Parliament must be commended for being proactive in instituting measures to mitigate the contraction and spread of the virus in the House at the beginning of the pandemic, the later outbreak of the virus in the House (involving 17 lawmakers and 151 support sta )100ff suggests that better proactive measures could have been taken. One of such measures could have been the use of digital tools as was done in countries like Spain, Poland, and Latvia, where legislatures shifted to virtual sittings, electronic voting, and other digital democracy tools to continue to remain relevant while limiting physical presence.101 It is recommended that the government of Ghana equip Parliament with the necessary digital com- munication technologies that allow for effective virtual legislative pro- ceedings. This would not only be relevant in managing future pandemics that require little physical presence but enable Parliament to be abreast with new procedures and ways of working. Disclosure statement No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). 99See UNDP, Accountability and COVID-19 (UNDP 2020 Publishing) 100Aljazeera English (n 43). 101OECD (n 7).