CONFERENCE ON NATIONAL YOUTH BUDGET PROJECT Paper Presentation

1
CONFERENCE ON NATIONAL YOUTH BUDGET
PROJECT
Paper Presentation

• TOPIC YOUTH INVOLVEMENT IN BUDGET WORK
• BY MR. KING KOJO SARFO
• DATE 6TH JUNE 2009

2
Ghana is undoubtedly counted among the worlds
fledging democracies

• Article 19 of the international covenant on civil
  and political Rights establishes the right of
  individuals to seek, receive and import
  information and ideas of all kinds regardless of
  frontiers.

3
FOCUS OF THIS PAPER

• An examination of civic participation in budget
  work in Ghana.
• A discussion of youth in budget democracy

4
AREAS OF FOCUS

• The first part of the paper considers the push
  and pull effects of public availability of
  budget information.
• The last part discusses the involvement of the
  youth in the context of policy initiatives,
  public resource allocation and domestic
  accountability.
•  

5
PUBLIC BUDGETS

• Public budgets are the instruments that
  government uses to set priorities. The budget is
  a very important policy document. It outlines the
  governments expected revenue and proposed
  expenditure usually for one year period.

6
TENANTS OF AN EFFECTIVE PUBLIC BUDGET

• Equity
• Transparency
• Accountability
• Participatory

7
An examination of civic participation in budget
work in Ghana

• The PUSH effect This refers to efforts by the
  government in ensuring transparency and
  accountability by providing comprehensive
  information on past, current and projected fiscal
  activities.

8

• The PULL effect This is the organised
  representation of citizens demand for
  accountability and transparency often by civil
  societies and non-governmental organisations.

9
THE GHANAIAN BUDGETING SYSTEM MAIN PLAYERS

• Government ministries, department and agencies
  (MDAs)
• Metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies
  (MMDAs)
• Statutory bodies and institutions
• Non-governmental organisations
• Individuals and donors

10
CIVIL SOCIETY BUDGET WORK

• In Ghana, many civil society organisations have
  provided public platforms for budget work and
  conferences on the budgetary process in Ghana.

11
RECOMMENDATION FOR CIVIL SOCIETY BUDGET WORK

• An umbrella organisation should be formed for all
  civil society organisations in budget work to
  harmonize efforts.
• Resources should be made available to civil
  societies to enable them advance their objectives
  of promoting good governance

12

• Additionally, with reference to the push and
  pull effects, the government represented by
  the Ministry of Finance and civil societies in
  budget work should basically consider increasing
  the rate of participatory budgeting.

13
PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING

• It is the process of direct democracy, universal
  and voluntary through which the population has
  the opportunity to discuss and to decide the
  budget and public policies.

14
YOUTH IN BUDGET DEMOCRACY

• The youth constitutes a greater percentage (33
  as per the 2000 population census) of Ghana's
  population.
• Ghanas annual budget operationalises
  governments policy and has lots of impact on the
  youth.

15

• It is very important to know that even though the
  youth constitute a critical mass of the
  population, they have no place in the economic
  space of Ghana.
• The interest of the youth are not adequately
  represented in the developmental agenda of Ghana

16
SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF BUDGETARY ALLOCATIONS FOR
YOUTH OF GHANA.

• As per the 2008 Budget Statement, the Grand total
  of MDA expenditure allocations for 2008 from
  statutory and discretionary sources-
  Gh1,552,563,752.00
• Allocations to Ministry of Manpower Youth and
  Employment- Gh21,310,291. This is only 1
  approximately of the total MDA allocations and
  represents about 0.3 of the total Government
  expenditure for 2009

17

• As per the 2009 Budget Statement, the Grand total
  of MDA expenditure allocations for 2009 from
  statutory and discretionary sources-
  Gh1,484,589,319.00
• Allocations to Ministry of Manpower Youth and
  Employment- Gh91,232,823.00. This is only 6
  approximately of the total MDA allocations and
  represents about 0.9 of the total Government
  expenditure for 2009.

18
ARISE GHANA YOUTH

• Though future leaders of tomorrow, the GHANAIAN
  YOUTH are partners of today's development.

19
THANK YOU!