Ghana’s financial management still a challenge – Kuyole

Ghana has been described by some analysts as the continent’s last hope to be able to get itself out of deprivation and poverty. In some countries the mismanagement of the natural resource sector has resulted not only in poverty but war as well.

Addressing the media ahead of the launch of the 2013 Resource Governance Index, the Africa Regional Coordinator of Revenue Watch Institute (RWI) Emmanuel Kuyole, said, “while there is an improvement in the human development index, and the wellbeing of the people in Ghana, there are still a lot of challenges that has to be addressed. And one of the areas is public financial management.”

He said there has to be improvement in the quality and effectiveness of the public financial management in a way that money that is generated from the extractive sector and the rest of the economy is utilised.

According to him, there is a big movement now to address these challenges.

The 2013 Resource Governance Index seeks among others, to provide a tool for policy makers to be able to assess whether they are in the quest to address these challenges in their various countries, he said.

“There has to be value for that money. You need to check whether money is going to the right places and it is being spent on the right projects and that the projects are being executed effectively and efficiently,” he said.

By Pascal Kelvin Kudiabor