A three member team participated in a conference on Public Financial Management, organised by the International Consortium on Government Financial Management (ICGFM) in Miami, USA, May 19-23, 2008.  The team comprised Hon P.C. Appiah-Ofori, member of the Finance Committee, Hon. Samuel Sallas-Mensah and Ms. Marilyn Aniwa, In-Country Coordinator, Parliamentary Centre. The objective was to share Ghana’s experiences on how stakeholders of Public Financial Management interact with government to ensure effective governance.

The participation of the MPs was also to present the case of Ghana’s nascent Public Hearing process and to learn from other Country experiences.

The Ghana team was given a special slot on day one of the conference for the panel discussion. The theme for the session was “Developing Country Experiences in Public Financial Management Stakeholders Dynamics” The teams discussions focussed on “Ghana’s Public Finance stakeholders working together for good governance - Ministry of Finance, Parliament, Private Business, Media, Civil society. What worked well, what could have been improved”.

Ms. Aniwa’s paper focused on “Ghana’s PFM Stakeholder Dynamics: Parliament, Civil Society, the Media and Private Sector”. It highlighted ways the various stakeholders were trying to make government more accountable. Hon. P.C. Appiah-Ofori’s paper centred on the budget process, the preparation of monthly and annual accounts, compliance with constitutional and statutory provisions and highlighting the role of Parliament in all of these, specifically the role of the Finance Committee. Hon. Sallas-Mensah’s paper focused on “Transparency in Public Financial Management in Developing Countries”. His paper also highlighted the role of the Public Accounts Committee in Ghana and Public Hearing Process.

The presentations were well received and the ensuing discussions and questions that followed generated a lot of interest in the Ghana team and Ghana as a whole.