Over 140 participants attended the Budget Review workshop including the parliamentary leadership, representatives from key committees, the Minister of Finance and his two deputies as well as selection of representatives from CIDA and the Parliamentary Centre. A panel of resource persons participated as discussants to presentations by the MDAs.

We at the Centre have always believed that the budget process is at the heart of Executive-Legislative Relations. It is the basis of public financial accountability and, there is no better time than now to strengthen Parliament’s role in the budget cycle.  An effective Parliament-MDA engagement in the budget cycle is a major move towards effective policy prioritization and improved resource utilization. The process will equally strengthen political-decision making and accountability as policy choices are progressively linked to more effective spending plans and service delivery. Prior to the Legislative Stage of the budget it is ideal for Members of Parliament to have a fair understanding of MDAs performance in the past year and their proposals for the 2008 financial year particularly as they relate to:

• Policy objectives
• The GPRS priorities
• The Medium Term Expenditure Framework
• Guiding the balance and priorities for resource allocation across sectors, functions, programme, region and gender

This year, the Centre in collaboration with the Leadership of Parliament and the Ministry of Finance decided to review the format for the post-budget workshops. The workshop for the first time provided a forum for MPs to gain direct inputs from MDAs to provide background to committee hearings for the sectors. The presentations by the MDAs compared 2007 provisional expenditure outcomes with the 2007 budget, as detailed in the medium term expenditure framework for 2007 - 2009 and the annual estimates for 2007. Specifically, priority activities undertaken and objectives achieved were highlighted and linkages to the 2008 Budget carefully demonstrated.  The presentations also indicated the extent to which the sectoral estimates will promote greater progress towards Poverty Reduction, Growth and Good Governance.

Based on the above, the workshop concentrated on 3 critical sectors namely:

1. Service – Health, Education, Employment and  Social Welfare
2. Growth – Private Sector, Energy, Roads, Agriculture
3. Good Governance –  Local Governance and Decentralisation 

Objectives
The workshop was to  help Parliament and members of the committees to:

1. Create the opportunity for MPs to appreciate the budget proposals to the Parliament. 
2. Review the budget estimates and suggest possible amendments to the budget proposals
3. Identify trends in national budgets and the way forward to inform future budgets.

Expected Results
This event contributed  to the following results:
• Increased capacity of committee members and staff of Parliament to participate effectively in national government decision making concerning economic policy development, resource allocation, gender equality and poverty reduction
• Genuine strengthening of democratic governance in Ghana through the opportunity for positive engagement
• Increased accountability of central government to the parliament and people of Ghana

The fifth post-budget workshop was held at Koforidua from the 23rd of November to the 25th of November 2007.