Government to publish national accounts

Accra, Oct. 17, GNA- Government would soon begin publishing the national financial statements to enable the public make informed comments and suggestions.

Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Finance and Economic Planning Minister who announced this on Friday said, "The publication of the national accounts which falls in line with our Constitution, that the accounts must be published from time to time, is the essence of accountability and transparency.

"All Ministries, Departments and Agencies would also be made to publish their financial statements monthly besides the national accounts, currently the Controller and Accountant General's Department has initiated something similar," he said.

Mr Osafo-Maafo said the public has the right to know and very importantly as a nation that, the citizenry were made aware of the judicious use of their resources.

Speaking at the launch of the simplified version of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) document, the Finance Minister said its original message had been structured in a manner that would make it easy to read.

He said it had been prepared to ensure that any literate would have the opportunity to understand the GPRS and how he could be involved in its implementation.

Two versions were available, one on a single sheet that had summarised the main issues and the other a 50-page book.

The launch coincided with the celebration of this year's International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP) under the theme "Information - A tool for Poverty Reduction".

Mr Osafo-Maafo said government was committed to ensure that the people had information to make informed choices adding, "Policy makers and implementers, poor and the affluence, the governed and those being governed, donors and beneficiaries, require information".

He said Ghana's poverty situation might be the result of ineffective economic policies or lack of capacity to deliver development policies that made efficient use of the nation's resources.

"The situation might have been compounded by a governance system that lacked transparency and did not seek to protect the rights of every citizen," he said.

Mr Osafo-Maafo said under the GPRS Ghana had established a strong foundation from which the Ghanaian economy and society would achieve significant growth and development over the medium to long term. He said government's main task was to provide a meaningful enabling environment in which the private sector could grow and prosper.