The objectives of the reform include improving budget credibility aimed at addressing weaknesses in budget formulation, especially with regard to fiscal forecasting and budget estimation processes.

It includes enhancing auditing and risk management by strengthening internal and external audit and parliamentary review, establishing risk management and reporting across government.

In a speech read on his behalf at the inaugural meeting of the PFM Steering Committee in Accra last Tuesday, the Finance Minister, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, said other development partners had also provided financial support to the revenue agencies for tax reforms in the country.

He said the inaugural meeting of the steering committee was to establish governance and institutional arrangements to support efforts towards ensuring prudent financial management.

He added that the committee was also to provide the policy direction for the implementation of the PFM reform agenda and address inter-ministerial issues pertaining to the entire PFM agenda.

Review

The Finance Minister said the reform strategy would be reviewed to bring into focus the government’s vision and priorities.

“We will prioritise the deployment of systems to improve and facilitate a more efficient budget management process,” he  said.

To that end, Mr Ofori-Atta said the government would, by the end of the year, deploy the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) to all statutory funds and provide extensive coverage for internally generated funds (IGFs).

He said the government would also “enforce the provision in the PFM Act especially on multi-year commitments to curb arrears build up. We are committed to the full implementation of the Treasury Single Account and will ensure that government accounts are moved to the Bank of Ghana”.

He noted that the outlined programmes and others would help improve cash management to avoid what he termed “the heavy reliance on borrowing to deliver public goods”.

The minister said a risk management framework aimed at ensuring that fiscal risks, especially with state-owned enterprises and external shocks, were minimised would also be established.

He pledged his personal commitment “to reform the Ministry of Finance, which is the main PFM institution, as a professional skilled institution providing the necessary guidance, technical and analytical support for all stakeholders to implement their programmes and policies”.

“We will engage, we will be transparent and we will improve on our services,” Mr Ofori-Atta further pledged, and expressed the hope that the entire team would lend its support to cushion the fiscal space.

Communications Minister

The Minister for Communications, Mrs Ursula Owusu Ekuful, opened the PFM Steering Committee’s first meeting and noted that technology was an important tool in public financial management.

On the problems facing IT staff in the various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), she said there was the need to find innovative ways to improve the working conditions of IT personnel in order to curb their exodus.

She said the government was committed to enhancing the country’s IT infrastructure to facilitate growth in the economy.

Membership of committee

Members of the steering committee include the Finance Minister and his three deputies, the Minister for Communications, the Minister for Health, the Clerk of Parliament, the Chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament, the Chairman of the Public Services Commission (PSC), the Governor of the Bank of Ghana and the Head of the Civil Service.

The rest are the Controller and Accountant General, the Commissioner General of the Ghana Revenue Authority, the Director of Budget, Ministry of Finance, the Auditor-General, the President of the Association of Ghana Industries, among others.

The functions of the PFM Steering Committee include addressing inter-ministerial issues pertaining to the entire PFM reform agenda and ensuring the full engagement of all major institutions of government for the effective control and management of public finance.

It is also responsible for the overall policy coordination and guidelines for the PFM reforms, addressing strategic issues that hamper the implementation of project activities, tracking performance and progressively using approved key indicators for each component outcome.

The committee is expected to meet at least three times in a year.