Albert Kan-Dapaah, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, has urged strong commitment to the implementation of a national medium-term plan (MTP) that will guide the national budgeting process and be mainstreamed in all subsequent sectoral strategies.
“This development plan must form a blueprint of sound economic policies and national projects that can be implemented to ensure sustainable growth and development of the economy, and should list programmes and projects that will be undertaken during the plan period.
“The MTP introduces a development paradigm that locks in the macroeconomic stability recorded so far, and anchors the economy on a pedestal of sustainable economic growth, employment-creation and poverty-reduction.”
The current medium-term plan, the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA) covers the period 2010-2013 and is aimed to ensure and sustain macro-economic stability; enhance private-sector competitiveness; modernise agriculture; develop infrastructure; and ensure transparent and accountable governance.
The GSGDA is the successor to the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS II), which covered the period 2006-2009 and was linked to Ghana’s debt-forgiveness programme with external creditors.
According to Kan Dapaah, a national medium-term plan should cut across political-party governments, and be seen as the nation’s strategy for social and economic development.
A medium-term plan should respond to the mandate set out to support the restoration of economic stability and growth in the country, he said.
Speaking on a wide range of national issues during an interaction with members of the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ), Mr. Kan-Dapaah, said: “There should be an annual budget that draws from the MTP developed by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) to guide public expenditure.”
Touching on the massive corruption revealed at the sittings of the Public Accounts Committee, he explained that the country lacks a management accounting system that could track expenditure on public-sector activities, and this has contributed greatly to the magnitude of corruption in the public sector.
“We need to have a way of stopping the magnitude of corruption in the public sector.”
Various studies into public financial management in Ghana have revealed grave weaknesses in the internal control systems of MDAs. Among the problems that have persistently come up include failure to follow laid-down procedures, poor record-keeping practices, and blatant fraud perpetrated by some public officials.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah called for a stronger collaboration between the Public Accounts Committee and IFEJ to help unearth the corrupt practices and hold public sector workers accountable.
“The main concern of the Ghanaian is accountability for the use of public funds. That is why rules, regulations and guidelines are given to institutions that benefit from the Consolidated Fund in the disbursement of monies,”
These violations and improprieties, he said, allow room for malfeasance and loss of revenue to the state.
Albert Kan Dapaah noted that it is important to follow up audit queries with the appropriate sanctions against culpable officials, especially in the extreme cases of fraud, forgery and other financial crimes.
Ray Ankrah, Managing Director, Ray Ankrah & Associates, a firm of Chartered Accountant & Tax consultants, urged government to develop guidelines to encourage Ghanaians outside the country to pay tax.
“Wherever Ghanaians are, they must be encouraged to pay tax and [made to understand] that their contribution to national development identifies them as Ghanaians.”
He called for a new financial reporting management system for the public sector to help monitor public expenditure and track government receipts.
This would help reduce the magnitude of corruption in government departments and agencies, he said.
The finance ministry is currently overseeing the implementation of the Ghana Integrated Financial Management and Information System (GIFMIS) project that aims to create systems to strengthen financial management in public-sector institutions.
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