Even as we present this report, Ministry of Finance has already followed up the main suggestion derived from the work on this report: We have re-coded the budget and are now training budget staff at Ministries, departments and Agencies (MDAs).With these efforts Ghana is taking the lead, globally, in developing a tracking system to ensure that the SDGs are being achieved.

Without public commitment, financing and partnership, we will not reach the SDGs .Budget provides a concrete measure of real commitment to the goals, while information on government’s actual spending will show how well we have followed through .By presenting allocations and spending to the public, we are meeting SDG target 16.6 that emphasizes the importance of transparency and accountability in public institutions.

The methodology and recommendations presented in this report, has the potential to guide us into Ghana that leaves nobody behind and where sustainable patterns of production and consumption are the norm. We have to diligently endeavor to meet the targets and indicators of the SDGs to make this happen.

This report is a starting point of an annual series of SDG budget reports, that will ensure that we use our time and resources well. And looking at the intention of our Special Policy Initiative like Planting for Food and Jobs, One Village One Dam, One District One Factory and Nation Builders Corps there is no doubt that Ghana is on the right path towards this year’s budgets focus: “Putting Ghana Back to Work”

We have to start from somewhere, so although this year’s report was bereft in terms of available data, future findings will be guided by SDG statistics from Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).Nonetheless, using trend analyses provided by GSS where relevant, alongside data from other sources, our current results highlight a strong need to undertake even more progressive measures to ensure a strong identification of budget allocations towards the SDG target.

Our goal is to ensure that the SDGs become part of the DNA of all Ghanaians. The SDGs call for nations to manage their own resources. The global Addis Ababa Agenda on Financing for Development supports President Akufo-Addo’s vision of a Ghana Beyond Aid, and we must collectively take a lead in raising the funds needed to ensure the transformation we want. For this purpose, a Transformation Unit has been established at the Ministry of Finance .While many of the SDGs will be achieved through improved policies and implementation practices, more collaboration among public institutions, private sector, learning commitment involvement and action for Ghana to Prosper for its People and the Planet.

As Minister for Finance ,and with support of President Akufo-Addo who co-chairs the UN’s advocacy group for the SDG’s I will use the budget as a critical instrument to institutionalize on the SDGs, as a core anchor for achieving President’s transformation vision of a Ghana Beyond Aid.