The Public Financial Management Reform Project (PFMRP) seeks to achieve improvement in budget management, financial control and reporting of the Government of Ghana with the aim of enhancing fiscal discipline, strategic allocation of resources and service delivery efficiency, through strengthened systems and procedures and targeted capacity building.
The Public Financial Management Reform Project
| SUB-COMPONENT/PFM SYSTEM | IMPLEMENTING MDA |
|---|---|
| Budget | Ministry of Finance |
| IFMIS | Controller & Accountant-General’s Dept. |
| Payroll | Controller & Accountant-General’s Dept. |
| HRMIS | Public Services Commission |
| Procurement | Public Procurement Authority |
| Internal Audit | Internal Audit Agency |
| External Audit | Ghana Audit Service |
| Legislative Oversight | Parliament |
The Project has 4 components which are further divided into eight institutional sub-components covering the key PFM systems as follows:
COMPONENT 1
Enhancing Budget Credibility
This component is divided into four sub-components aimed at improving budget management and enhancing the credibility of the national budget through the development of tools and processes that will support effective participation of Cabinet, Parliament and other relevant stakeholders in the budget process. The objective of this component is to improve budget management and strengthen credibility of the national budget.
The objective of this sub-component is to establish and strengthen controls on all claims on fiscal resources.
ACTIVITIES
- Reviewing and strengthening of Cabinet’s formal engagement in the budget process and designing a “budget charter” that will establish the principles, roles and obligations of key stakeholders in a sound budget process;
- Design a strengthened budget framework paper to be used as a vehicle for obtaining Cabinet approval to medium term forecasts of fiscal space;
- Build MDA capacity to develop costed sector strategies and Sector Medium Term Development Plans (SMTDP);
- Strengthen technical linkages and information sharing between fiscal forecasting and analysis and the budget formulation and execution processes; and
- Provide specialist on-going training for forecasters in ERFD;
- Provide technical training to ERFD forecasting staff; and
- Strengthen capacity in the DMD.
The objective of this sub-component is to ensure that all investment projects for financing through the budget are selected, appraised and prioritized in relation to available fiscal space.
ACTIVITIES
- Improving capacity to ensure effective evaluation and ‘whole-of-Government’ prioritization of projects before they enter the budget process;
- Improving coordination of the Public Investment Management (PIM) with the budget process; and
- Reviewing the functionality of the Public Investment Management System (PIMS) to ensure that the system will adequately support the determined proce
The objective of this sub-component is to implement improved management practices to enhance the performance of public spending at MDA level, including the use of appropriate technological tools, while ensuring better predictability of resource flows for budget implementation.
ACTIVITIES
- TA to advise the BD on the changes required to ensure the benefits of PBB are maximized;
- TA to review MDA program structures, performance measures and targets, and narratives over the period of the project; and refresher training for MDAs implementing PBB;
- On-going training for MDAs in PBB, and
- Facilitation of an intense engagement between MoF and MDAs with a view to identify service delivery problems in MDAs and to use PBB as a tool to address these progressively, and
- Additional Hyperion licenses for provision of on-site access to all budget controllers in central MDAs (33), annual maintenance and support for the Hyperion software, implementation services for rolling-out Hyperion to the MDAs, and developing an interface between HRMIS and Hyperion, as well as training on Hyperion.
The objective of this sub-component is to establish comprehensive systems for monitoring and review of all sources of risk to the planned budget out-turn to enable timely mitigation of these risks.
ACTIVITIES
- Development of a comprehensive system for monitoring expenditure arrears and other risks arising from the CF, SOEs, and other sources;
- TA to review current risk analysis and reporting practices by existing entities and recommend an appropriate organization and mandate to take over the function of risk analysis and development of risk mitigation policy;
- Building capacity and establishing the authority for the entity to carry out its functions effectively; and
- Development of a fiscal risk statement as a regular part of the budget prese
COMPONENT 2
Public Financial Management Systems and Control
The objective of this component is to support the design, development, implementation and coverage of the Government’s PFM systems and control.
The objective of this sub-component is to complete the work started in the previous project on the design, development, implementation and coverage of the GIFMIS (IFMIS, HRMIS, Payroll and systems interfaces) to enable them to function as tools for improved fiscal management and budgetary control, cash and debt management, timely and accurate reporting for better economic management and effective service delivery.
ACTIVITIES
The main activities financed can be divided into three groups:
- Enhancements in the coverage of the Financial Systems Modules of the GIFMIS.
- HRMIS roll-out: The focus will be on completing the establishment registers for the remaining Government workforce, completing the rollout of the HRMIS core application, including establishment, profile and cost management, to enhance its coverage to all MDAs, services commissions and all ten Regions.
- Technology Infrastructure: This will include hardware and implementation services for setting-up the disaster recovery systems; refurbishment of primary data center; improving and extending network connectivity through National Information Technology Agency (NITA); other hardware/software enhancements; maintenance fee for the software licenses; technical support
The objective of this sub-component is to strengthen the management of cash and debt to minimize net interest cost, ensure cash is available to meet commitments and obligations for service delivery and eliminate CF arrears accumulation.
ACTIVITIES
- Developing a cash flow forecasting model, better forecasts of MDA requirements, and a cash management database;
- Strengthening capacity of the Cash Management Working Group (CMWG) to improve control of budget execution by issuing expenditure warrants only on the basis of cash availability;
- Broadening the coverage of the Treasury Single Account (TSA); and
- Implementing electronic bank reconciliation
The objective of this sub-component is to strengthen the internal audit function at the IAA and across MDAs & MMDAs.
ACTIVITIES
- Providing additional operational resources and tools (e.g. computers: hardware) to roll out the training and capacity building programs for improving the ICT skill of staff of IAA and Internal Audit Units (IAUs) particularly in the MDAs;
- Designing, developing and rolling out of quality assurance programs;
- Strengthening the role of ARICs in follow-up actions on internal audit reports as part of the oversight function;
- Training IAU management to support Government’s efforts at implementing Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) across MMDAs; and
- Providing consultancy and operational support in the conduct of specialized audits in collaboration with GAS to assist IAUs in undertaking procurement audits, payroll audits, system based audit and risk based audits, etc.
The objective of this sub-component is to improve procurement planning and enhancement of economy, efficiency, transparency and accountability of the procurement process.
ACTIVITIES
- Enhancing the existing Online Procurement Planning (PP) Tool and linking it to the Hyperion Budget Planning;
- Integrating/interfacing the e-procurement system, when completed under the e-Transform project, with the GIFMIS;
- Supporting the implementation of the Amendments to the Public Procurement Act, 2003;
- Carrying out Procurement Value Chain Analysis through consultancy services;
- Establishing Unit Cost of Infrastructure consultancy services;
- Establishing Functional Procurement Units in Procuring Entities through training and consultancy services;
- Outreaching the local private sector to build capacity of contractors, suppliers and consultants to be able to submit responsive tenders through dissemination workshops;
- Enhancing legal and regulatory capacity of PPA through purchase of goods, training and consultancies; and
- Preparing a framework for carrying out Procurement Audits through consultancies and training.
The objective of this component is to enhance the integrity of payroll and its compliance with the approved establishments.
ACTIVITIES
- The focus will be to support the Government in complementing the implementation of the Payroll Cleaning Plan, approved by the Cabinet, and already being implemented by the CAGD, under supervision of the Ministerial Committee of the Ca Key activities include consultancies for payroll and personnel verification audits.
The objective of this sub-component is to improve Government financial reporting in terms of completeness, consistency, and compliance with international standards.
ACTIVITIES
Under the implementation authority of the CAGD, and with collaboration from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ghana (ICAG), the sub-component will finance:
- Capacity building activities relating to financial reporting and implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS); and
- The establishment of policy guidelines for management, control, and reporting of public assets as well implementation thereof across government
COMPONENT 3
Reinforcing Financial Oversight and Accountability
The objective is to enhance external audit capacity as well as legislative oversight over budget management.
The objective of this sub-component is to strengthen the financial oversight role of the GAS to enable them to carry out comprehensive performance and systems-based audit on Government financial operations.
ACTIVITIES
- Provision of continuous training of GAS staff in electronic audit techniques
- Acquisition, installation and deployment of appropriate Computer Assisted Auditing Techniques (CAATs) and other Audit Management Information System (AMIS);
- Undertaking of selected performance and specialized audits using the electronic tools; and
- Strengthening capacity of the audit teams in completing audits of MMDAs within the statutory deadline of six months after end of fiscal year, through additional bought-out technical assistance.
The objective of this sub- component is to enhance the capacity of the Legislature to exercise appropriate oversight over both upstream and downstream PFM processes to ensure transparency and accountability in public financial management.
ACTIVITIES
- Technical assistance to strengthen the technical capacity to support Parliamentarians in performing budget analysis as well as analysis of audited public accounts and reporting on audit report reviews/hearings;
- E the technical and professional capacity of clerks of the two committees, equipment support and website improvements
COMPONENT 4
PFM Reform Coordination and Change Management
The objective of this component is to provide a continuing institutional and coordination basis for overseeing the implementation of the PFMRS (PFMRS) as a whole, as well as managing the implementation of the proposed project.
The objective of this sub-component is to provide the administrative and operational structure for the seamless management and coordination of implementation of activities of the project by the various component managers. It will also be responsible for providing technical leadership in articulating, guiding and monitoring the overall PFM reforms across the Government of Ghana.
ACTIVITIES
- Technical assistance support to the PFM Reform Coordination Office (PFMRCO), goods including computers and accessories, operational expenses, and training/sensitization
The objective of this sub-component is to support management of the PFMRP and more generally the implementation of the Public Financial Management Reform Strategy (PFMRS) through effective tracking of project performance and strategy implementation.
ACTIVITIES
- Strengthening the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) capacity to coordinate work plans and identify and report on key indicators of progress for each activity;
- Strengthening PFMRCO and M&E capacity to develop the PFMRS Action Plan as a basis for reaching agreement on financial support for all activities envisaged in the ; and
- Strengthening communication strategy and implementation as well as its linkage with the M&E results both for the project and the overall PFM reform.
The objective of this sub-component is to support the implementation of the financial management and procurement arrangements for the project.
The objective of this sub-component is to provide the just-in-time interventions in new and arising reform activities as well as problem-driven issues that will be critical to leveraging the achievements of each of the components and sub-components of the project.
ACTIVITIES
The sub-component, through consultancies, provision of goods, and dissemination workshops and targeted training, will finance:
- In-depth PFM support for key service delivery agencies like Ghana Education Service and Ghana Health Service, through the identification of critical problems they experience in expenditure management processes at the centralized and decentralized levels, as well as the collective definition of home-grown, context-sensitive solutions to these problems;
- Stakeholders’ workshops for better dissemination of PFM reform actions across all frontiers supported under the project;
- Ad hoc implementation needs, necessitated by changes in Government policy, across each of the first three components; and
- Support to the Government to implement policy reform changes introduced under development policy financing operations of donors as well as those introduced under the IMF Program
