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Story by, Paul Mensah Nsor
The Centre for Local Government Advocacy (CLGA) has emphasized the importance of involving traditional authorities, internal auditors, and citizens in the planning and budgeting process.
Ghana's metropolitan assemblies are lagging behind their municipal and district counterparts in financial compliance, according to findings from the 2024 Public Financial Management Compliance League Table (PFMCLT) review.
According to Hon. Gladys G N Tetteh, Deputy Executive Director of CLGA, these stakeholders play a crucial role in ensuring effective project implementation and compliance with the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act.
Involvement of Traditional Authorities, CLGA notes that traditional authorities are not adequately involved in the planning and budgeting process, leading to potential conflicts and delays in project implementation.
-mInternal Auditors, The organization also highlights the need for internal auditors to be involved in management issues from the planning stage to the implementation stage to ensure effective project implementation.
Citizen Involvement, CLGA emphasizes the importance of citizen involvement in planning and budgeting, noting that occasional consultations with handpicked individuals are not sufficient to ensure meaningful.
The CLGA has launched the 2024 Public Financial Management Compliance League Table (PFMCLT), which assesses the compliance of assemblies with the PFM Act. The league table aims to identify areas where assemblies need capacity building to improve their performance. According to Hon. Tetteh, the assessment is not meant to name and shame assemblies but to provide a mirror for them to reflect on their performance and improve.
Prof. Goski Alabi, a board member of the Centre for Local Government Advocacy (CLGA), described the results as "a wake-up call for the metropolis to ensure that they are doing the right thing" during the compliance review meeting.
The assessment revealed alarming deficiencies in records management across all 260+ assemblies evaluated. Most concerning, none of the assessed assemblies passed the financial reporting requirements, highlighting a complete breakdown in accountability for public resources.
"It's one thing planning, but it's another thing providing accountability for the resources that had been given out to the assemblies," Prof. Alabi noted, emphasizing the gap between resource allocation and transparent reporting.
The review highlighted several critical areas needing improvement:
Citizen Participation, Limited involvement of citizens in planning processes, particularly affecting land use and community development decisions.
Traditional Authority Engagement, Insufficient inclusion of chiefs and traditional authorities in planning to ensure ground-level alignment.
Infrastructure Deficits, Poor internet accessibility affecting procurement platforms and reporting systems.
Prof. Alabi called for intensified capacity building programs, noting that frequent changes in assembly members and government appointees require continuous training efforts. The review also emphasized the need for better resource provision, particularly reliable internet access for effective operations.
The findings underscore the urgent need for systemic reforms in Ghana's local government financial management to ensure proper stewardship of public resources.
The CLGA plans to engage sector ministries, policy-making institutions, and parliament on the issues that have arisen from the assessment. The organization aims to promote effective planning and budgeting practices in Ghana's local government system.