Transparency (Open Budget Index) 51/100
The Government of Ghana provides the public with limited budget information.
Public Participation 29/100
The Government of Ghana is weak in providing the public with opportunities to engage in the budget process.
Budget Oversight
By legislature 54/100
Budget oversight by the legislature in Ghana is limited.
By auditor 67/100
Budget oversight by the supreme audit institution in Ghana is adequate.
Recommendations
Improving Transparency
Ghana should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:
- Produce and publish the Pre-Budget Statement and the Enacted Budget in a timely manner.1
- Increase the comprehensiveness of the Executive’s Budget Proposal by presenting more information on the classification of expenditures for future years and the classification of expenditures for prior years.
- Increase the comprehensiveness of the Year-End Report by presenting more information on planned versus actual macroeconomic forecasts and planned versus actual performance.
Improving Participation
Ghana should prioritize the following actions to improve budget participation:
- Provide detailed feedback on how public perspectives have been captured and taken into account.
- Hold legislative hearings on the budgets of specific ministries, departments, and agencies at which testimony from the public is heard.
- Establish formal mechanisms for the public to assist the supreme audit institution to formulate its audit program and participate in audit investigations.
Improving Oversight
Ghana should prioritize the following actions to strengthen budget oversight:
- Establish a specialized budget research office for the legislature.
- In both law and practice, ensure the legislature is consulted prior to the virement of funds in the Enacted Budget and the spending of any unanticipated revenue.
- Ensure the supreme audit institution has adequate funding to perform its duties, as determined by an independent body (e.g., the legislature or judiciary).