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The Centre for Local Governance Advocacy (CLGA), with funding from the European Union, has organized a town hall meeting in Tamale to empower citizens to monitor local public expenditure.
It was to present and deliberate on the key findings of the 2024 Public Financial Management Compliance League Table (PFMCLT) assessment.
The event, which brought together over 100 participants, served as a platform to promote accountability, transparency, and citizen participation in how public funds are managed at the local level by engaging citizens, stakeholders, and the media in constructive dialogue around effective financial management practices.
The town hall meeting provided citizens with the relevant information to hold duty bearers accountable, while also gathering feedback and recommendations for policy reforms and improve compliance among Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
In attendance were notable dignitaries, including the Metropolitan Coordinating Director who welcomed the participants to this important gathering as well as the Presiding Member of the Sagnerigu Municipal Assembly/Dean of PMs, Executive Directors from Civil Society Organizations, Assembly Members, representatives from media houses, among other Stakeholders and District Assembly representatives.
Their collective presence emphasized a shared responsibility for ensuring that Public Financial Management (PFM) systems work efficiently and in the public interest.
Speaking at the event, the Programmes Manager for CLGA, Mr. Herbert Apaloo, highlighted the purpose of the PFMCLT, stating that:
“The PFMCLT is a monitoring tool to assess how well MMDAs are complying with the PFM laws of Ghana.
He made a presentation on the findings, highlighting the national and regional rankings, key weaknesses and challenges as well as the performance of MMDAs along the 5 PFM cycle areas namely Planning, budgeting, procurement and contracting, accounting and reporting, internal and external auditing.
Participants at the town hall meeting expressed their appreciation for the valuable information shared, to empower them to effectively hold duty bearers accountable, engage more meaningfully in local governance processes, and advocate for greater transparency and responsiveness at the local level.
The town hall meeting forms part of a nationwide dissemination campaign to disseminate the 2024 PFMCLT assessment results to ordinary citizens for improved financial accountability.
