Public Financial Management Reforms (PFMR) commended

Mr. Donald Mpande, the World Bank’s Task Team Leader (TTL) for the Public Financial Management Reforms Project (PFR) has commended the Government for the introduction and implementation of various interventions aimed at strengthening and guaranteeing prudent public financial management, safety and protection for transparent governance.

He expressed satisfaction with the rate and level of implementation of most of the Components under the PFMR Project and mentioned in particular, the successes achieved under the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) which he said, has brought about ‘improved sanity in the Public Financial sector’.

Mr. Mpande made the remarks during the Bank’s Mini Mission to the PFMRP at its Secretariat in Accra as part of the World Bank’s continuous monitoring and evaluation of Projects funded by the International Development Agency (IDA).

He urged the handlers of the Project to put in more efforts to justify the efforts by Government and the Bank and for the attainment of the developmemt objectives of the reforms.

Welcoming the World Bank team, Nana Kwabena Adjei Mensah, the Technical Advisor to the Minister of Finance on the PFMRP disclosed that GIFMIS provides an opportunity for all Government financial transactions to be transparent and that it was illegal for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s) as well as Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDA’s) to engage in financial transactions without using the Integrated Financial Management System.

He said it was of vital importance for the public, especially firms which engage in any business with state institutions to note that any Contractor without a Tax Identification Number (TIN) who wins and executes a contract will not be paid.

Mr. Sampson Asare Fianko, a Deputy Controller and Accountant General and Project Director the PFMRP, said the Ministry of Finance was making strenuous efforts to improve network and internet connectivity which has been identified as a major challenge to the attainment of the development objectives of the Project.

He said the World Bank Mini Mission was most opportune as it will help the Project implementers to put things right where necessary and remain on course as the Project prepares for its Mid-term Review scheduled for the end of the year (2017).

The PFMR Project is an IDA funded Project under the Ministry of Finance geared towards improvement in budget management and credibility, public finance management and control, ensuring financial oversight and accountability and public finance reform coordination and change management including Human resource development.

The World Bank Mini Mission delegation included Mr. Thomas Annan Siaw, a Financial Management Specialist with the Bank.