By
Benjamin Adamafio Commey/Khareema Thompson, GNA
Accra, Jan. 21, GNA
– The German government on Tuesday said it was contributing to help end Ghana’s
reliance on development assistance and enable it stand on its feet
economically.
Ms Dorothee
Dinkelaker, the Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy, said Germany was
well aware of the reforms being undertaken by the Ghanaian Government in the
medium term as it was framed in the vision of ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’.
Ms Dinkelaker stated
this during a workshop organized by the ‘Government for Inclusive Development’
(GovID) in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and the Ministry of
Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) in Accra.
The GovID in its
quest to improve on efficiency in public financial management, has begun an
operational planning workshop to set goals and targets for the 2020 implementation
year.
The workshop also
seeks to provide technical advice, training and organizational development
measures to national institutions.
Ms Regina Bauerochse
Barbosa, the Country Director of GIZ, Ghana, said the vision of GIZ is to shape
a future worth living around the world.
This vision, she
said was corresponding to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to achieve a
better and more sustainable future for all.
“I know that Ghana
is particularly eager to be the frontrunner in achieving the SDGs by 2030 as
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the co-chair of the SDG advocates”.
Mr. Alex Kwarteng,
the Head of Budget Development at MoF, said 2020 was very significant for the
government as a result of the general elections.
He explained that
more often than not elections turned to take chunk of the government’s budget,
adding that the Ministry was therefore working assiduously to ensure that it
spent within the allocated budget.
Mr Kwasi Boateng
Adjei, the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, on his
part commended the GovID for organizing the workshop.
He said the
implementation of the District Level Revenue Software within the Metropolitan,
Municipal, and District Assemblies for Internally Generated Funds mobilization
had begun yielding interest from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
“This is quite
commendable as it goes to strengthen our resolve to promoting the ‘Ghana Beyond
Aid’ agenda of government,” he said.
He expressed
optimistism that the combination of the Good Financial Governance (GFG)
programme with the GRA under the MoF and the Support for Decentralisation
Reforms with the MLGRD into the GovID would provide the drive for accountability.
He said this would
also drive local economic development and deepen the budget and revenue
management support at the national and local levels for effective delivery of
government programmes.
Over eighty
participants drawn from the government, private sector, civil society
organisations, among others, are expected to hold discussions and make inputs
on how best planned activities could be implemented to facilitate development.
GovID is a module
commissioned by the German government with support from Global Affairs Canada
and it seeks to support efforts to reform the country’s public financing
management for national development.
GNA