How do you judge the fiscal potential of a policy by a Ghanaian government administration?
In a recent post on X by Bright Simons, a notable figure at IMANI Ghana, he noted the lack of accountability for policy mistakes and understanding of policy success.
He cited the example of Zipline, a drone operator that delivers medical aid to places in Ghana that are hard to reach by road.
Mr. Simons describes how the policy with Zipline wasn’t well thought through. Ghana’s government now owes the company millions of dollars to the point where a US senator publicly called out the country for its indebtedness.
Overall, he called into question the feasibility of government policies that have been implemented over the years.
How do civil service organisations and the public scrutinse policies and get an idea of how it might work in the long term? How can the media better independently scrutinise national budgets?
It might be a stretch, but Ghana could consider adopting the United States’ Congressional Budget Office (CBO) model.
Established in 1974, the CBO provides nonpartisan, independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the US Congress. It analyzes proposed bills and estimates their impact on federal spending, revenues, and the deficit.
Ghana could establish a similar institution — a Ghanaian Budget Office (GBO) — to help anchor public debate in facts and long-term thinking.
Budgeting Without a Compass
Every year, Ghana’s Ministry of Finance presents a budget to parliament. This exercise is often met with political posturing rather than strigent analysis.
It’s the same merry-go-round round after every budget reading: The opposition party criticizes the budget, the ruling party defends it, and the general public is left with soundbites and slogans rather than clarity.
Currently, no independent institution is dedicated to breaking down the assumptions behind revenue forecasts, debt projections, or the long-term impact of new taxes and spending initiatives.
If the country had an independent GBO, it could act as a neutral official in presenting facts and figures.
A GBO could estimate the real cost of policies like Ghana’s Free Senior High School (SHS) program, or even the Mahama Administration’s upcoming 24-Hour Economy policies.
It would enable transparency to help inform better decision-making and build public trust.
Depoliticizing Fiscal Policy
In Ghana, economic data is often subject to partisan spin. GDP growth rates, inflation targets, and employment figures are all politicized, blurring the issues for the media and the general public.
A GBO could cut through the noise by providing independent analyses of policy initiatives and projected figures.
It could provide reports outlining the long-term debt servicing costs, potential economic returns, and risks involved.
This would empower MPs to vote based on data, not party lines (although they are still most likely to vote along party lines).
No government wants to cede control over the narrative on public finances. However, the establishment of a GBO would boost transparency, trust, and sound governance.
Supporting Informed Public Debate
A GBO would enable the public to access clear, data-driven analyses on national issues.
Having access to unbiased data would raise the quality of debate on policies in the country. In Ghanaian society, where almost every issue is politicised and spun by opposition parties, a GBO would be a reprieve for the public.
Moreover, the GBO could provide regular reports on issues like youth unemployment, the sustainability of the pension system, or the financial health of SOEs.
All this could be done in collaboration with existing institutions such as the Auditor General.
What It Would Take
Creating a GBO would require enormous political will.
No government wants to cede control over the narrative on public finances. However, the establishment of a GBO would boost transparency, trust, and governance.
Staffed with economists, statisticians, and policy analysts, and governed by a nonpartisan board, a Ghanaian Budget Office could be mandated to analyze budgets, assess the economic impact of legislation, and publish regular fiscal outlooks.
As more issues in the country get politicsed, the need for independent, data-driven fiscal oversight has never been more urgent.
It’s a long shot, but a thought experiment on exploring something like this is not a bad idea.
