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The Majority Leader in Parliament, Mr Alban Bagbin, has touted the West Africa Association of Public Accounts Committees (WAAPAC) as a panacea for holding governments accountable for the management and use of public resources. He said the WAAPAC platform which had a lot of potential would boost the decisiveness and authority of Parliaments to make very significant contributions to the quest for value for money in public spending, effective scrutiny and oversight of executive functions. Speaking at the opening of the Sixth Accountability Conference and the Fifth Annual General Meeting of the WAAPAC in Lome, Togo, Mr Bagbin noted that due to the lack of public trust in Parliaments� ability to effectively enforce financial oversight on the executive, it was imperative that the legislature was open, transparent and accountable to the people they represented. Common theme The lack of public trust in Parliaments� ability to effectively enforce financial oversight was a common theme running through members� contributions. There was an overarching agreement that it was imperative for all parliamentarians to be open, transparent and accountable to the people they represented. WAAPAC platform He said the creation of new platforms such as the WAAPAC to share experiences, best practices and information would enhance the capacity of Public Accounts Committees (PACs) and enable them to keep abreast of the ever-changing world order. Mr Bagbin, who was delegated to the four-day meeting by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) as the West African Representative on the Executive Committee of CPA International, told the gathering that the CPA looked forward to the outcome and action plan of the conference. �The CPA assures you of its unflinching commitment to insuring that PACs become effective and preferred instruments of democratic and responsive governments of today�s world,� Mr Bagbin said.