THE acting Governor of
the Bank of Ghana, Dr Henry Kofi Wampah, has called for stronger partnership
between the government and development partners to work together to achieve a
long lasting improvement in the management of public funds.
Dr Wampah explained
that a sound public financial management system was a precondition for
effectively channelling resources to service delivery, such as basic education
and health services, adding that “good public financial management systems can
help prevent corruption and foster aid effectiveness.”
The acting governor
made these observations when he opened a West African regional course on Public
Financial Management (PFM); Budgeting, Planning and Performance in Accra last
Monday. The nine-day course is being organised by the West African Institute
for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) and the African Capacity
Building Foundation (ACBF).
Dr Wampah underscored
the importance of good public financial management systems for democratic
governance, macroeconomic stability, effective use of resources and poverty
reduction.
He said although much
had been done to improve the quality of PFM, through the development of
medium-term expenditure framework and moves to adopt fiscal responsibility act,
a lot remained to be done to achieve the desired results.
“It is even more
important that international donors, governments, national and local
institutions, including regulators and professional bodies work together in
partnership to achieve long-lasting improvements, transparency and
accountability in PFM,” he stressed.
The Director General of
WAIFEM, Professor Akpan H. Ekpo, said the course was in response to the
realisation that economic development and the fight against poverty and
corruption could only be enhanced under an environment of good governance and
that an efficient framework for transparent management of public finances was
key.
He acknowledged that as
a strong PFM framework served as a catalyst for economic growth and
development, so should sound PFM structures increase the demand for performance
information, improve the efficiency of service delivery and bring
accountability to government operations in delivering public goods and services
to citizens.
He said poverty
reduction was not merely a question of spending more, but instead, using
existing resources more effectively, and that could be achieved through
effective PFM systems which ensured accountability and efficiency in the
management of public resources.
“PFM, thus, continues
to play a critical role in contributing to economic stability, nation-building,
growth and poverty reduction in our economies,” he said.
Some key topics
expected to be covered at the course include; planning, budgeting and financial
management in the public sector; fiscal performance and fiscal rules; fiscal
policy and economic growth; and public expenditure programme.
WAIFEM was established
as a collaborative sub-regional capacity building organisation in July 1996 by
the central banks of the five Anglophone countries of West Africa, namely, the
Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
Last year, the board
admitted the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea into WAIFEM.
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