Greater Accra Regional Minister launches Composite Budget hearing
Nii Armah Ashietey, Greater Accra Regional Minister, on Tuesday stated that there was the urgent need to join hands to accelerate the decentralizing process in the country to bring development to the door steps of the people.
He said it was important to decentralize all functions that could be more efficiently performed by district assemblies, saying it was appropriate to work together to strengthen the district assemblies as pivots for local development.
Nii Ashietey said this at the launch of the maiden Greater Accra 2012 Composite Budget hearing in Accra.
He said the hearing would provide the platform for all ten districts in the region for the first time to present their budgets to stakeholders.
Nii Ashietey noted that the presentation would cover programmes and projects undertaken since 2009 and proposed programmes and projects for the medium term based on the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda 2010 to 2013 policy priorities.
He noted that the preparation of a comprehensive and realistic budget was the basic requirement for sound local government public financial management and local service delivery.
“A comprehensive budget in the bed rock on which other reforms in reporting, accounting and auditing can be achieved to ensure that resources are utilized in an efficient, effective, transparent and accountable manner which will lead to efficient service delivery at the local level”, he added.
He said the composite budget was to inculcate integrated sound financial discipline and management at the local level of government, adding it was a process of instituting an effective and transparent public financial management system at the sub-national level to facilitate efficient service delivery.
Nii Ashietey indicated that the composite budget would also ensure that information on the total resource envelop of each Metropolitan Municipal District Assemblies was made available and the resources of the various funding sources and sectors were properly integrated and coordinated so as to reduce duplication in the use of resources and efforts in service delivery.
It would also allow for the opening of MMDA budgets all over the country to establish an effective integrated budgeting system which supports intended goals, expectations and performance of government.
The MMDA budget would also deepen uniform means of planning, budgeting, financial reporting and auditing in a more comprehensive manner, which covers every aspect and activities of the MMDA’s, as well as facilitate harmonized development and introduce an element of fiscal prudence in the management of public funds at the MMDA level, he added.
Nii Ashietey challenged private investors to invest in the local economy since there were more opportunities available there, and thanked development partners who had been supportive and especially those that had contributed to the development of the local economy.
Source: GNA