Ghana’s performance on budget transparency has seen a significant decline, according to findings from the International Budget Partnership’s (IBP) 2025 Open Budget Survey, raising fresh concerns about fiscal openness and accountability.
The report showed that the country’s transparency score dropped sharply from 46 percent in 2023 to 22 percent in 2025—well below the Sub‑Saharan Africa average of 38 percent.
The decline signals a deterioration in the availability and accessibility of key budget information, potentially weakening citizens’ ability to engage with and scrutinize government spending decisions.
Despite the setback in transparency, the country recorded modest improvements in public participation and oversight.
The country’s score for public involvement in the budget process rose slightly from 17 percent in 2023 to 22 percent in 2025.
Meanwhile, oversight by key state institutions improved from 28 percent to 33 percent over the same period.
The Open Budget Survey—regarded as the world’s only independent, fact-based, and comparative assessment of budget openness—evaluates fiscal transparency in 82 countries using expert assessments, peer reviews, and standardized scoring systems.
For Ghana, the latest report identifies critical gaps in the timely publication of essential budget documents. These include delays in releasing the Executive’s Budget Proposal and the Citizens’ Budget online, as well as inconsistencies in publishing In-Year Reports.
Such shortcomings significantly limit public access to fiscal data and constrain informed engagement by civil society organizations.
Although the survey acknowledges some level of public consultations and audit-related engagements, it notes that opportunities for meaningful citizen participation remain constrained.
Civil society organizations and ordinary citizens are largely excluded from budget hearings and ongoing monitoring processes, limiting inclusiveness in fiscal governance.
Oversight mechanisms, while showing incremental improvement, continue to face structural challenges.
The absence of an independent fiscal institution to provide non-partisan analysis weakens accountability frameworks, while parliamentary oversight remains inadequate in holding the executive accountable throughout the budget cycle.
The report outlines several recommendations aimed at reversing the downward trend in transparency. These include the timely online publication of all key budget documents, expanding parliamentary hearings to include civil society and marginalized groups, and creating formal mechanisms that allow citizens to monitor budget implementation.
Furthermore, the establishment of an independent fiscal institution is highlighted as a priority to provide impartial fiscal analysis and strengthen evidence-based policymaking. Strengthening Parliament’s capacity to oversee both budget preparation and implementation is also deemed critical.
SEND Ghana, a policy research and advocacy organization focused on promoting good governance and gender equality, collaborated closely with the International Budget Partnership on the survey.
The organization has been at the forefront of efforts to improve fiscal transparency and public accountability in Ghana.
Source: businesspostonline
