Fiscal responsibility legal framework: New paradigm for fiscal discipline during elections in Ghana?

Abstract

Ghana has suffered from large fiscal volatility for the past three decades. This volatility has been identified as one of the key challenges to her development. This study was based on the presupposition that Ghana’s democracy since 1993 continue to witness a trend whereby various governments have failed to maintain fiscal discipline during election years. This paper however, sought to examine the extent to which the newly set up fiscal council, the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) and the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2018 (Act 982) have corrected this trend. The study however, revealed that notwithstanding the various control mechanisms put in place, financial discipline and sustainability have rarely been achieved. The study recommends a strong sanctioning regime and the consolidation of independent fiscal institutions.