Ensure good governance in resource management
The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Henry Kofi Wampah, has stated that economic development and the fight against poverty will require good governance practices.
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“The centrepiece of good governance in public resource management is transparency and accountability,” he said.
Dr Wampah said this at the opening of the “Regional Course on Public Financial Management: Budgeting Planning and Performance,” organised by the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) in Accra.
He said central to the element of transparency in the management public resources was the question of rules of engagement relating to the bid process for public contracts.
“This should be clearly defined and publicised for the information of all interested parties which quite a good number of countries in the sub-region have embarked on by enacting a Public Procurement Act to provide a clear framework.”
But poverty reduction, according to the governor, is not merely a question of spending more, but also using existing resources more effectively.
“So public financial management will continue to play a critical role in contributing to economic stability, nation-building and poverty reduction in our economies,” he said.
“A sound public financial management system is a necessary precondition for effectively channelling resources to critical areas of the economy.”
The Director-General of WAIFEM, Professor Akpan Ekpo, said the key element of transparency in managing public resources pertained to effective accounting and internal auditing standards to ensure accountability and probity in the use of public resources.
He said the weeklong course would cover topics such as planning, budgeting and financial management in the public sector; fiscal performance, fiscal rules, fiscal policy and economic growth.
So far, WAIFEM has successfully conducted about 470 courses since its inception and has benefitted more than 13,086 participants from the sub-region.