Ghana—Fiscal Accountability Strengthening Activity (FASA)

After Ghana defaulted in 2022, which significantly raised the cost of living for most Ghanaians, international and domestic attention turned to the government’s financial mismanagement. Weak accountability mechanisms also hindered the government in addressing fiscal issues because citizens and civil groups have limited capacity and opportunity to voice their concerns. Unless compliant behavior and connections within Ghana’s public financial management (PFM) ecosystem are strengthened, these gaps will continue to persist, resulting in systems and processes that are incongruent with best practices, and most importantly, with the needs of the Ghanaian public.

Building on the foundation laid by previous reforms—including a partial rollout of an Integrated Financial Management Information System, adoption of the accrual International Public Sector Accounting Standards, and launch of the Treasury Single Account—the Fiscal Accountability Strengthening Activity (FASA) partners with Ghanaian institutions such as the Ghana Audit Service and the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to raise the bar for fiscal accountability at national and subnational levels.

FASA works in key areas of Ghana’s public financial management ecosystem to enhance the accountability, transparency, and efficiency of public expenditures.

Notably, the project implements a holistic social and behavior change approach to improve compliance with international best practices, create an accessible information landscape for governance finance, and encourage citizen participation in public finance-related events.

Sample Activities

• Develop orientation training and materials for new Parliamentary Accounts Committee members.
• Support implementation of performance auditing.
• Provide Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System training through training of trainers to the Ministry of Finance, departments, agencies, and district-level staff.
• Support the rollout of the electronic funds transfer system.
• Enhance cash management through strengthened cash flow forecasting.