A civic organisation that leverages technology
to enhance citizen engagement and promote transparency and accountability in governance,
has reviewed the 2024 National Budget and presents its comprehensive analysis report,
including key suggestions and recommendations for the government and stakeholders.
In her address, the Country Director of BudgIT Ghana, Ms. Jennifer Addochoe Moffatt,
emphasised BudgIT Ghana’s mission to simplify government budgets and public spending for
citizens through the use of various technologies and channels. The BudgIT analysis report is a
condensed version of the national budget in simplified infographic and pictorial format, which is
comprehensible to citizens across the entire literacy span. This initiative aims to foster
accountability and responsible governance, with a particular focus on budget access, health
sector accountability, extractives and institutional support. The overarching goal is to empower
citizens to demand improved service delivery and good governance.
Ms. Moffatt underscored the critical theme of this year’s analysis: Pursuing Growth and
Development Within a Stable Macro-economic Environment, highlighting that the 2024 Ghana
national budget prioritises three key areas:
- Macro-Economic Stability: Ensuring the stability of the Ghanaian Cedi and addressing economic challenges.
- Economic Growth: Strengthening critical sectors such as agriculture, industry, and tourism, with a focus on addressing abandoned projects and completing existing infrastructure projects.
- Debt Management and Recovery Efforts: Strategizing on effective debt management
to support sustainable development goals.
The report highlights significant allocations in the 2024 budget, including a proposed GH¢
2,074,827,160 for the Office of Government Machinery—a 47% increase over the previous
year’s allocation—and a 26% increase in Parliament’s budget, totaling GH¢ 1,029,466,639.
Ms. Moffatt, pointed out that the high cost of government, primarily spent on salaries and
administrative costs, could erode public trust and impede public service delivery, stressed the importance of competence in government report reviews, and the power of
effective citizen engagement in the accountability ecosystem is crucial that the role of public
bodies, which play a key role in reviewing consultative status applications and supporting
government work without political bias, is leveraged to achieve the goal of transparent and
equitable governance as this could significantly enhance public trust and service delivery.
In Furtherance, called on the government to mobilise resources towards creating a predictable and comprehensive review system, and implored public institutions involved in social economy
initiatives to improve working methods, provide necessary resources, and plan activities that contribute to economic development and youth engagement, also highlighted the need for the government to leverage contributions from various stakeholders to address critical issues
such as human rights policies and effective budget implementation.
