The introduction of the Public Financial Management (PFM) Compliance League Table by the Ministry of Finance was seen as one of the key tools to assess the competencies and effectiveness of public institutions on their adherence to fiscal rules in line with the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), and related regulations and laws.

It is a simple innovative tool aimed at strengthening accountability in the use of public resources to enhance transparency and ensure accountability in the stewardship of financial responsibility and fidelity across public institutions. Though a simple tool, it has a far reaching impact on governance ensuring the institution and practice of value for money in the use of taxpayers funds to provide basic goods and services to enrich the life and well-being of Ghanaians.

The PFM Act, basically, has the key fundamental objective "...to regulate the financial management of the public sector within a macroeconomic and fiscal framework", establishing "a framework to support a sound fiscal policy and the macroeconomic management of public funds."

With this clear cut policy objective, even (with apologies and no malice), the common street person with no formal education who is given some form of training and capacity building can deliver significant outcome, let alone highly educated and trained hands and minds.

Much as technically, the existence of some institutions that are themselves dead on arrival at the top quartile of the table raises concerns, as we wonder what type of resource they manage looking at the dead state of their assets or processes, e.g. Tema Oil Refinery.

Also, EPA's position vis-a-vis the state of galamsey and total degradation and pollution of our environment under their watch. That notwithstanding, tool has brought to highlight how effective public institutions in Ghana manage the very little they get from taxpayers in the discharge of their mandates within the risks and challenges they face.

In discussing the outcome of this PFM Act assessment league, I am particularly ashamed for University of Ghana and the Audit Service.

For the University of Ghana that prides herself as the premier university and disturbing our ears as the provider of cutting edge academic excellence for manpower skills and techniques to equip the hands and minds of professionals to deliver the best for Ghana's development to exhibit incompetence in just 'adherence and compliance of rules and regulations' to achieve value for money speaks volumes about the technical competences of their own people, systems, strategies, processes and above all the understanding of the question they are asked to solve.

So for all intent and purposes, the University of Ghana had a fail or (gye ko di di) in this key ranking, falling as low at the 90th position or the first 10.86% poor performers in this PFM Act exercise. What a remarkable achievement by our Legon! Or is it 'leg on'? This monumental sign of institutional failing is against the backdrop of the qualifications of personnel and work force there, some of them are now media guys and social commentators providing every answers to Ghana's economic problems everyday. The so-called academic economic commentators could not deliver practical solutions in the application of the PFM Act.

From anatomy to zoology, every department of the university has all categories of qualifications from professors to what have you, some with articles and research works telling the world how to make use of public funds. An hour will not pass by without a comment by an academic on the social media and traditional media fronts on the best practical solutions to Ghana's woes.

And yet they could not deploy their skills to achieve a practical outcome that affects society in public funds management within the very macroeconomic space they have arrogated to themselves as the grand masters. Hmmm... we wonder if their mastery is turning into " jack of all trade and master of none" principle. What a shame!

So with this performance ineptitude by University of Ghana, it is simply suffice to say that the university is a good place for theorizing but deficient in translating theory into practice. What a parody of academic and skills development!

Today, a cabal is built in our public universities that no matter how good and practically results driven you are with a masters degree, if you don't have a PhD and Professorial qualifications, you can never go near them. Thank God the dependence on paper qualification than what practical solutions a worker can bring to bear has emanated into this poor performance by "Leg on", the premier university in Ghana.

Per their fruits, we shall know them. This is a commonsensical biblical teaching that highlights the application of skills over the gaining of paper qualification.

The case of the Audit Service is even more worse and bizarre. Per this ranking, the question of "who audits the auditor" is conclusively answered effectively. Audit Service has been squarely audited by the PFM Act ranking.

The PFM Act assessment league has shown to Ghanaians the 'competencies and qualities' of the audit work products that the Audit Service churn out periodically. How can an institution that is not responsive to fundamental processes of its own internal auditing resource usage be expected to produce quality audit reports to enhance accountability, responsibility, stewardship, transparency and above all value for money?

I am particularly concerned about these two institutions because their roles as epitome of academic and educational manpower skills development and providers as well as assurance for accountability and fiduciary of public funds for public wealth management come under public ridicule which significantly affect the image, brand and public confidence in living up to their mandates.

I strongly believe that going forward, both University of Ghana and Audit Service will first of all own this ranking feedback, accept their outcomes and recommendations in good faith as one of their building blocks so that what they need to do to redeem themselves in subsequent years, they will not relent on them to tell a good story next year. But until they do that, I am sorry to say the public's confidence and their global image will wane down along the line. This will not sound good for them, particularly University of Ghana whose brand depends on quality of innovation, research, reports, etc, in claiming a good position in the ranking of universities across the globe. I hope we don't get there.

As we build the future with the ideas and thinking of yesterday and the practice of actions today, the ranking has brought to light the two institutions act of thoughts and discernment and the actions they deployed through the past to have gotten them these positions. I believe with these outcomes, they will begin the process of tomorrow's deliverables with a grounded depth of thought-through strategy yesterday and a worth of effective implementation processes today. Otherwise tomorrow's results will still stand caput!

A word to a wise institution is leadership - a leadership that effect necessary changes to make good outcome out of a worse case scenario. A leadership that braces itself to rewrite its past and set the pace to a footprint that is strong enough to win the minds of the people from tomorrow till eternity. I hope to see this as we wait to come back next year to address concerns we love to have it better.