Four years into the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a key global focus is still on identifying resources to fill the financing gap, making the mobilization of resources the lifeline for the attainment of the Global goals. This report will show how Ghana is developing a holistic strategy for targeted SDGs budgeting, tracking, as well as involving the SDG Impact Investment ecosystem in the financing of the SDGs
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls for governments to take the economic, social and environmental development of their countries into their own hands. Hence, with the first SDGs budget report, Ghana took an important step towards meeting its commitment to the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) on Financing for Development. Based on that report, a new bold step in tracking allocations, costs and financial gaps has been made to support the Nation’s policy agenda on the SDGs, which also feeds into the President’s vision of a Ghana Beyond Aid.
The Government of Ghana’s overarching vision for a Ghana Beyond Aid is a call to change the way things are done, in order to leapfrog the country’s growth trajectory for the attainment of the vision within a generation. To facilitate the national resource mobilisation process, the Ministry of Finance has launched an annual Accra SDGs Investment Fair initiative that was first held on 5th December 2018, in partnership with Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) and the SDGs Advisory Unit at the Office of the President.
The 2019 SDGs Budget Report is based on a tracking system developed by the Ministry of Finance which allows for the tracking of budget allocations at target level, at all levels of government and across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as well as Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies(MMDAs).
The new methodology permits tracking of actual expenditures, which will be reported on a semi-annual basis. A tool for online tracking of all the SDGs related information, is developed and will be made available to the public. This tool will fundamentally improve budget transparency, combined with statistical information on SDGs indicators from Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).
The national budget provides a profound measure of Government’s actual commitment to the goals, while information on actual spending shows whether government has followed through on the planned budget expenditure. Reporting on the financing of the SDGs in the budget is of immense importance to meet the global goals as a nation and to communicate progress to the people of Ghana and the global community.
Highlights of the 2019 SDGs budget report will be included in Ghana’s SDGs Voluntary National Reviews (VNR). This will will report on the country’s experience and progress on the SDGs at the UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in July 2019. The country-led VNRs are a mechanism for measuring progress toward the realization of the goals and targets of Agenda 2030 at the national and sub-national levels.