The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and Aid Administration in Ghana: Issues, Challenges, and Prospects

Abstract

The end of the Cold War caused or at least promoted progress toward an aid architecture that sought to ensure effectiveness in the delivery of aid. The Paris Declaration (PD) was thus adopted to show the resolve of leaders to take far-reaching and monitorable actions to reform the ways in which aid was delivered and managed (PD, 2005: 1). The primary aim of the Declaration was to provide a framework to manage aid more effectively. Even though Ghana received much aid (a total of US$ 12 billion) between 1975 and 2002, there has been only little transformation in the country’s development. Meanwhile Ghana is one of the most active players in the global dialogue on aid effectiveness and has been closely involved in the Paris Agenda. This study sought to assess the impact of the Paris Declaration on the delivery of aid in Ghana. The research methodology employed involved a mix of qualitative and quantitative research techniques. The study found that Ghana has made tremendous progress with ownership with the formulation of the GSGDA and in the Education Sector, the ESP. Also, in spite of improvements in alignment and harmonization, aid is still far from aligned to national development priorities as off-plan and off-budget expenditures persist. Progress with managing for results and mutual accountability has been a mixed one. The challenges of implementing the PD extend from the non-availability of information on the complete picture of external assistance to Ghana, through weak sector strategies and weak planning, to secret conditionalities in the form of policy advice and policy prescriptions. The PD fills a void by establishing accepted aid effectiveness standards and mutual expectations as well as providing a governance framework for dialogue among stakeholders. There, however, remain notable challenges in aid delivery in Ghana.