The Ministry of Finance was called upon to make the various budget statements available to the public and to involve citizens in the process of compiling documents to ensure that needs are taken into account.
This is the recommendation in the country's 2021 Open Budget Survey (OBS) released by advocacy group SEND Ghana in collaboration with the International Budget Partnership (IBP).
At an event in Accra on Thursday July 28 organized by SEND Ghana to launch the results of the Ghana Open Budget 2021 survey, it was revealed that the country's transparency score reached 56% after improving by 2 percentage points last year.
Additionally, the scores of 20% and 39% in the categories of Public Participation and Budget Oversight are improvements from the last edition of the survey, although they remain relatively low.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the launch event after the presentation of the results of Ghana's 2021 Open Budget Survey, Mr. Godson Aloryito, who is the Budget Credibility Officer at the International Budget Partnership, said the improvement in the score bodes well for Ghana.
However, he pointed out that there should be more openness from the Ministry of Finance when it comes to matters of the national budget to involve the public more.
According to him, when this happens, Ghana's score in the open budget survey will continue to improve while also addressing citizens' concerns.
“One of the key findings for us in the Open Budget Survey 2021 is that Ghana slightly improved its transparency score from 54 out of 100 in 2019 to 56 in 2021. And that means the public has some level of information to deal with the budget. For best practice countries, a score of 61 out of 100 and above is considered more ideal.
“We urge the government that even though we have improved marginally in our score, there is a lot that can be done and the government must look accordingly. We encourage the government to release the details of the individual programs and their budget allocation together with performance after implementation,” Mr. Godson Aloryito told the media.
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SEND West Africa, Mr. Siapha Kamara, explained his unit's continuous work on Ghana's Open Budget Survey project, noting that the advocacy group wants to ensure solutions to the challenges facing citizens.
Mr Siaph Kamara
“For the past 10 years or so, SEND Ghana, supported by the International Budget Partnership, has been conducting an open budget survey. We work closely with the Ministry of Finance to increase transparency and accountability in our budget cycle.
"Ultimately, this is to enable citizens to learn more about budget processes so that they can use those processes to make the budget address issues that are important to their lives," Mr Siapha Kamara told the media.
He called on the Ministry of Finance to be more open about the country's budget to encourage healthy discussions aimed at enabling citizens to reap the full benefits of the budget inputs.
Mr. Lawrence Ndaago Ayagiba, Deputy Auditor General, and Dr. Alex Amankwah-Poku, who shared his thoughts at the launch, welcomed the findings and assured that the recommendations would be implemented.
In the appeal, Mr Lawrence Ndaago Ayagiba urged Ghanaians to help his outfit fulfill its role.
He urged citizens to report abandoned projects through his CITIZENSEYE application platform so that necessary action is taken.
About the Open Budget Survey:
The Open Budget Survey (OBS) is the world's only independent, benchmarking and evidence-based research tool that uses internationally recognized criteria to assess public access to central government budget information; formal opportunities for the public to engage in the state budget process; and the role of budgetary oversight institutions, such as legislatures and national audit offices, in terms of the budgetary process.
The survey helps local civil society to assess and consult with the government on the reporting and use of public funds. This 8th edition of OBS covers 120 countries:
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