Government wasting our taxes on foreign travels, cathedral, illegal mining – Report

According to a 2022 ‘Government Waste Report’ compiled by the Institute of Liberty and Policy Innovation (ILAPI), a clear majority of citizens in Ghana believe the government is misusing taxpayers’ money and resources.

Several issues were raised in the poll, including excessive spending on travel and the construction of the National Cathedral, illegal mining (Galamsey), financial mismanagement in youth employment programs, and overspending on government appointees.

Furthermore, the financial sector clean-up exercise was criticized as a waste of funds as the amount spent exceeded what was
necessary to restore the credibility of banks.

The poll also revealed that the abandonment of the Saglemi Housing Unit due to safety concerns was publicly seen as a waste of public
resources.

On average, the citizens asserted that the government wastes GHC 0.70 out of every GHC 1.00 received.

From these findings, it is apparent that overall trust in the government has eroded with a lack of accountability, transparency, abandonment of projects, and corruption being cited as contributing factors, the report said.

The poll indicates a widespread perception among citizens that the government is not effectively utilising public funds, leading to scepticism and dissatisfaction among citizens.

However, for the government to address wasteful spending and gain back trust, it requires a comprehensive approach that combines Legal and Policy Reforms, capacity building, and a commitment to fiscal responsibility, taking into consideration the subsequent
recommendations to facilitate the use of public resources, improve service delivery, and restore public confidence in the management of taxpayer funds, the report said.

The cross-sectional survey which utilised the questionnaire-based poll was employed to gather information from the general public on their perceptions of the government’s wasteful spending.

Also, a scooping review was carried out to explore the existing literature on the government flagship programmes and statutory demands to identify the key concepts, sources and evidence available.

The poll was conducted using digital and online platforms, including the ILAPI website, Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp. Volunteers across the 16 regions of Ghana were also engaged to assist in the poll.

Among its recommendations, ILAPI suggested that separate the appropriations functions from the priority-setting functions from of
the Ministry of Finance.

The priority function must be built on science, research, data and national development objectives.

This would help to reduce the rent-seeking policy-making agenda. Just like governments and many analysts calculate the macroeconomic effects of
fiscal policy, so too its distributional effects should be calculated on a regular basis. All forms of annual public guarantees should be estimated and the actual ‘insurance’ should be clearly stated in the budget or its annexes for parliament to be sure of it and to reduce the discretion of the executive in these matters. Some of these types of guarantees include tax exemptions and so forth, the report said.