The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament and the Promotion of Public Accountability in Ghana – An Assessment of the 7th Parliament of the Fourth Republic.

Abstract

Numerous African countries, including Ghana, have implemented reforms in public sector financial mobilisation and management systems in the bid to enhance accountability and fiscal discipline. Ghana's 1992 constitution authorises the legislative branch to oversee public finances via the Public Accounts Committee, ensuring scrutiny of government expenditures to mitigate financial impropriety. However, the extent to which the PAC recommendations strengthen public financial management and accountability arrangements, especially with regard to the fight against corruption, is inadequately expounded within the public financial management and accountability literature. Against this background, this study aims to address the insufficient exploration of how PAC recommendations bolster public financial management and accountability, particularly in combating corruption, by evaluating the PAC's role in improving public accountability in Ghana’s Fourth Republic. The study employed a qualitative research design. The primary data was obtained through semi-structured interviews, while the secondary data was derived from the existing literature on public accountability. The study identified that the PAC has been ineffective in its fundamental objective of enhancing and enriching public accountability, particularly in light of the alarming and growing persistence of continued non-compliance with the recommendations put forth by the PAC. The study also indicated that the formal mechanisms put in place in Ghana’s financial framework, such as the Audit Reports and Implementation (ARIC), to see to the implementation of PAC’s recommendations have been ineffective, with this deficiency largely attributed to the absence of statutory powers by the PAC to sanction individuals who either fail to comply with or disregard PAC’s recommendations. The study offered some recommendations to ensure the promotion of healthy public financial management in Ghana’s Fourth Republic. These include the establishment of a systematic approach for regular submission of periodic status reports concerning the progress and adherence to the implementation of PAC’s recommendations.