The Senior Presidential Advisor, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, has reiterated the government’s strong commitment to the principles of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), emphasizing efforts to improve governance, democracy, and transparency in Ghana.  

Speaking at a Multi-Stakeholder Consultative Workshop on the Delivery of Public Infrastructure in Accra, he highlighted the government's progress under the OGP framework, particularly through the implementation of four National Action Plans. 

Notable achievements have been made in several thematic areas, with a focus on transparency and accountability. Key among these is the establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor under the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959). 

In 2019, the government also created a legal framework for the Beneficial Ownership regime under the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992). This regime mandates the disclosure of beneficial ownership information, fulfilling a commitment made by countries implementing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). 

This was followed by the passing of the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989), which became operational in January 2020, marking a significant step towards improving government transparency and accountability. 

Achievement/challenges 

Hon. Yaw Osafo-Maafo highlighted the government's commitment to innovation and technology. He noted that the Ghana Open Data Policy, initially set to be finalized by 2018, has led to increased access to government data, supporting various data-driven initiatives.  

Ghana's efforts in implementing impactful, sustainable, and innovative commitments have been recognized, with the country receiving three awards in 2021 and 2023 for its achievements in Africa and the Middle East. 

However, Hon. Osafo-Maafo acknowledged that these advancements have not come without challenges. Budgetary constraints have posed significant obstacles, often leading to delays in the full implementation of commitments within their original timeframes. As a result, many projects have had to be rolled over. 

Looking ahead, Ghana is currently in its first year of implementing its fifth National Action Plan. As part of this, the government is focused on developing a specific commitment aimed at enhancing transparency and accountability in the delivery of publicly funded infrastructure projects.  

Hon. Osafo-Maafo stressed that Ghana is taking advantage of a one-year window provided by OGP member countries to finalize this commitment, which will include clear milestones, actionable steps, and a validation roadmap. 

“Our objective is to co-create and finalize an Infrastructure Transparency Commitment, guided by stakeholder feedback, to ensure greater transparency and accountability in infrastructure governance,” the Senior Presidential Advisor who doubles as the Chairman of the OGP Steering Committee said. 

The workshop, which brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, was part of ongoing efforts to refine the country’s approach to public infrastructure delivery and ensure that it aligns with international standards of transparency and accountability. 

The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a global multilateral initiative founded in 2011, dedicated to promoting transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in governance. By harnessing the power of new technologies and innovation, OGP encourages governments to adopt principles that ensure openness and integrity in governance processes.  

Since signing onto OGP in 2011, Ghana has worked towards embedding the values of transparency, civic participation, public accountability, and innovation across multiple sectors. In 2023, Ghana embarked on the implementation of its 5th National Action Plan (NAP 5), which has been the most rigorous plan to date, involving a broad range of stakeholders and diverse engagement mechanisms to develop commitments. 

The OGP provides a unique window within which an additional commitment can be included in the already submitted national action plans. As Ghana is in her 1st year of implementation of NAP 5, It is imperative that Ghana seizes this window to incorporate a specific commitment focused on transparency and accountability in the delivery of publicly funded infrastructure projects.

A delegation from the Presidential Communications Office and the Freedom of Information Project Management Office from the Republic of Philippines paid a peer learning visit to the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Secretariat in Ghana under the Public Sector Reform Secretariat on Friday, 4^th October, 2024. The meeting was held at the conference room of the Office of the Senior Presidential Advisor.

The visiting Team were Ms. Krizia Casey P. Avejar (Head of Delegation) and Chief Communications and Capacity Development Division; Ms. Hennesy D. Ozawa, Project Development Officer II; Ms. Sabrina Anya A. Feliciano, Project Development Officer I; Ms. Germie Ann Caber, Executive Assistant II; and Ms. Rainnie F. Emano Administrative Officer I. They visited the OGP Secretariat to learn best practices regarding the development and implementation of the OGP National Action Plans and the commitments expected of lead implementing agencies in Ghana and learn about Ghana’s OGP advocacy initiatives on Access to Information/Right to Information, reforms on Transparency and Open Government.   

The Team was engaged in a fruitful peer learning discussions and areas of interest with some of the OGP Steering Committee members and lead implementing agencies. It was chaired by Mrs. Mary Awelana Addah, Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative and co-chair of the OGP Steering Committee. Also present were Mrs. Thelma Ohene-Asiamah, Director and OGP Point of Contact in Ghana; Dr. (Mrs.)  Winifred Nafisa Mahama, acting Head, Information Services Department; and Mr. Musah Issah, acting Director, Regulatory Unit at the National Information Technology Agency.

Other members present were Mrs. Linda Quao, State Attorney, Office of Registrar of Companies; Mrs. Lucille Hewlett Annan, Commission Secretary, National Commission for Civic Education; Mrs. Esther Ahulu, Program Manager, Right to Information Coalition/Coalition of Human Rights Initiative; Mr. Stephen Azantilow, Director of Anti-Corruption, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice; Mrs. Elizabeth Obeng-Yeboah, Director at the Office of the Head of Civil Service; Ms. Nora Lartey, Programme Officer at the Ministry of Information; and Mr. Sosthenes Senanu Nyadroh, Deputy Chief Information Officer, Information Services Department.    

Mrs. Ohene-Asiamah made a presentation on the background of the OGP especially on the global and national context, structure of Ghana’s OGP, Ghana’s OGP terms of reference and the National Action Plans developed and implemented so far. She provided cogent information on the global front by indicating that since 2011 till date, OGP members have grown from 8 to 75 national level membership, and 150 local OGP members with 7 from Ghana. According to her, 10 out of the 75 countries globally were from Africa which included Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina-Faso, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Tunisia, and Tanzania.

She added that the Ghana OGP was governed by a 20-member Steering Committee with membership drawn from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). It was established in August 2012 and currently chaired by the Senior Presidential Advisor, and co-chaired by CSOs representative, the Ghana Integrity Initiative. The multi-stakeholder steering committee members have responsibility for the development of the National Action Plans, which capture the country’s OGP commitments. OGP Ghana has working groups drawn out of the Steering Committee around the various thematic areas of OGP namely; Transparency, Citizen Participation, Accountability and Technology and Innovation.

Dr. Nafisa Mahama also made a presentation on transparency under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by specifying that the commitments in the 5^th National Action Plan covers three key-fold areas. The areas were, to create public awareness on the RTI Act on how it operates and obligations of public institutions; pass regulations to fully operationalize the RTI Act and provide adequate funding for the implementation of the RTI Act.

Some of the milestone activities covered include, to complete the roll-out of the administrative structures in all regions of Ghana. She mentioned that the RTI Commission has opened two administrative offices; one in Kumasi and the other one in Sunyani. Again, 505 Information Units covering 16 Regional Coordinating Councils; 260 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs); 229 MDAs as well as Access to Information Division officers at 192 MMDAs and 129 MDAs across the country to process RTI requests of their respective institutions.

She made it clear that the training and capacity building of information officers to handle applications for information has been undertaken where 350 information officers assigned to public institutions have all been trained among other milestone activities.

The final presentation by Mr. Musah Issah was centred on commitment 14 of the 5^th National Action Plan which focused on data sharing and intermediation of public service delivery platforms. He indicated that there was the need to implement government’s digitalization initiatives to ensure quality Information Communications Technology (ICT) and provide best practices and standards. In that regard, some of the policies and laws produced to support the regulation were the Ghana ICT for Accelerated Development (ICT4AD); NITA Act 771; Electronic Transactions Act 2008, Act 772; Cyber Security Act 2020, Act 1038; and Data Protection Act 2012, Act 843.

He said, “the ability to share data seamlessly was critical for effective and efficient governance, however the inability to share data in government affect the decision making process of government, since government institutions largely operate in silos. This commitment therefore would set up the framework and guidelines to implement government’s data interoperability policy to enhance data sharing and intermediation”.

Mr. Issah added that the impact expected of this commitment on the data sharing and intermediation would facilitate the sharing of data among all the Information Technology systems in government and enable data driven decision making process by government. Citizens would be able to interact with institutions to validate, verify, ascertain information related to various subject areas such as product quality, registration status of a company from Food and Drugs and Standard Authorities. It would also strengthen consumer protection and competition in the digital economy and the security agencies largely would be able to share data to solve crime incidence against a citizen.

The peer learning meeting ended successfully with further explanations provided on issues related to the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that would ensure the commitments were regularly adhered.

In providing her concluding remarks, Mrs. Mary Addah underscored the fact that despite the challenges identified, a lot of efforts had gone into the development and implementation of key commitments in the OGP 5^th National Action Plan. She intimated that the OGP Steering Committee were encouraged by this peer learning meeting and were assured that the explanation and insight provided would help them appreciate the processes involved in the development and implementation of Ghana’s OGP National Action Plans.

Ghana’s Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative under the Public Sector Reform Secretariat (PSRS) and the Office of the Senior Presidential Advisor in collaboration with the World Bank held a consultative meeting with key stakeholders and representatives of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) leading in the implementation of the OGP 5^th National Action Plan (NAP), 2023-2027 on Tuesday, 24^th September, 2024 at the World Bank Office in Accra.

The purpose for the consultative meeting was to provide the World Bank with detailed information and knowledge of the various commitments in the OGP 5^th NAP that are being implemented by MDAs as well as partnering Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to facilitate decision-making and advocate for support for the implementation of the 5^th OGP NAP.    

OGP is an international initiative that seeks to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote openness, transparency, enhance citizen’s participation, promote accountability and adopt new technologies such as digitization to enhance good governance. Within the framework of promoting state – civil society collaboration, the OGP is governed by a Global Steering Committee comprising representatives of Government and CSOs.  Ghana signed onto the OGP in September 2011, and to meet its obligations under the Partnership, the country has developed and implemented four Action Plans. Ghana’s 5^th Action Plan is under implementation over a four-year period of 2023-2027. Typically, the OGP NAPs go through a two-year cycle, but Ghana opted for a 4-year cycle for the current 5th NAP is under implementation.  

The key stakeholders present at the consultative meeting were representatives of lead implementing MDAs and partners from notable CSOs in Ghana. These included Ministry of Finance, Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice; Ministry of Energy; Ministry of Information; Ministry of Health; Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development; Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development; Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection; Parliament House; Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice; Public Utilities Regulatory Commission; National Council on Persons with Disability; Financial Intelligence Centre; National Information Technology Agency; and Internal Audit Agency.

Other stakeholders present were Ghana Integrity Initiative; Ghana Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative; Center for Democratic Development, Ghana; Institute of Democratic Governance; Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative; Anglophone Africa; Budgit Ghana; Natural Resource Governance Institute; Energy Growth Hub; and SEND Ghana.

The OGP initiative had made some achievements in 2021 at the Global Summit held in Seoul, South Korea where Ghana was declared the third (3rd) placed country in the OGP Impact Award Category for Africa and the Middle East Region. In 2023, Ghana again received two awards at the OGP Global Summit held in Estonia at the national award under the Africa category for implementing the most inspirational reform dubbed ‘’Public Accounts Committee and Audit Reports’’. This reform was also one of the commitments in the 4^th OGP National Action Plan implemented by the Internal Audit Agency (IAA).

The local category award also went to the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Assembly based on their initiative in Youth Entrepreneurship and Women Empowerment programme. The objective of the local initiative is to reduce poverty and create employment to improve socio-economic wellbeing of citizens.

Other achievements were enactment of the Office of The Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) which established the Office of the Special Prosecutor. The enactment of the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992) established the legal framework for the Beneficial Ownership regime in fulfilment of the resolution which made Beneficial Ownership disclosure mandatory for all implementing countries of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). The Office of the Registrar of Companies is implementing a Beneficial Ownership regime based on the Act following the completion of the upgrade of its electronic register to enable it receive data.

Additionally, the Right to Information Act, 2019 (Act 989) was passed and became operational in January 2020. This is an important instrument for the promotion of transparency and accountability. Again, the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) was established by an Act of Parliament, State Interests and Governance Authority Act, 2019 (Act 990). The main purpose of SIGA is to ensure that the activities of all State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and Joint Venture Companies (JVCs) are monitored to among other objectives, ensure promotion of efficient operations of the CSOs and adherence to good corporate governance practices as well as Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2018 (Act 982).

In 2017, a major commitment under innovation and technology was for the Ministry of Communications and related Ministries and Agencies to finalize the Ghana Open Data Policy by 2018. The Ghana Open Data Initiative has led to increased access to government data for various data needs.

In a welcome remark, Mr. Raymond Muhula, a Lead Public Sector Specialist with the World Bank was pleased to meet all stakeholders present and to assure them of a fruitful engagement. He believed that the consultative meeting would provide a platform for the government to make specific commitments towards transparent and accountable governance process in the country. Mr. Muhula, recognized the fact that there has been some positive performance on democratic governance in Ghana. However, some public institutions still needed to innovate, improve and provide better services to the citizens.

He indicated that governance was critical for sustainable development in the country and therefore, the OGP process had a huge potential for Ghana. In that regard, the CSOs needed to partner in addressing the bottlenecks and weaknesses in transparency, accountability and standards in all public sector agencies.      

In a presentation on the background and structure of the OGP in Ghana, Mrs. Thelma Ohene-Asiamah, Director, General Administration at PSRS and OGP Point of Contact indicated that Ghana’s OGP is governed by a 20-member Steering Committee with membership drawn from relevant MDAs and CSOs. It was established in August 2012 and currently chaired by the Senior Presidential Advisor and co-chaired by a CSO representative, Ghana Integrity Initiative. The multi-stakeholder Steering Committee has responsibility for the development of the NAPs which encapsulates the country’s OGP commitments. Additionally, the OGP Ghana has a working group drawn out of the Steering Committee that are mainly around the key thematic areas of the OGP. These working groups follow-up and monitor the implementation of commitments contained in the Action Plans.

It was mentioned that at the sub-national level, seven (7) local authorities are members of the OGP local and these include the following: Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (pioneer), Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Assembly, Wassa Amenfi East Municipal Assembly, Ketu South Municipal Assembly, Tamale Municipal Assembly, Shama District Assembly and Anloga District Assembly.   

She added that some contributions of the OGP in Ghana were based on the collaborative relationship between the government and civil society. Through the implementation of the Action Plans and processes involved, major policy and legislative reforms to combat corruption, improve accountability and transparency were enacted and being implemented.

On her part, Mrs. Ohene-Asiamah, gave the highlights on transparency of the NAP-5. Some of which centred on commitments related to broad policy areas in Power Purchasing Agreements; Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2019; and Fisheries Transparency.

She further indicated that under the accountability section, there were commitments related to Assets Declaration; Witness Protection; Public Accounts Committee; Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing; enabling CHRAJ’s Administrative Justice delivery mandate; and Health Service delivery.  

Mrs. Ohene-Asiamah also provided commitments under Participation which were related to Citizens Complaints Centre; Gender Equality; and Citizen Participation in Local Government. The last highlights of the NAP-5 was based on Technology and Innovation. The commitments under this section were mainly focused on misinformation and disinformation, data sharing and intermediation of public service delivery platforms. Again, she indicated the highlight on Open Parliament as one of the key commitments.

Dr. Eric Osae, Director General of Internal Audit Agency and member of the OGP Steering Committee further elaborated on some of the commitments and benefits that Ghana can derive with support from the World Bank. 

At the end of the consultative meeting, the discussions were very fruitful with the call for further deliberations by stakeholders.

The office equipment included 20 desktop computers, 19 laptops, 25 printers, 25 colour photocopy machines, 20 user licenses, 20 user licenses for application software, 20 user-licenses for security software, 20 Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) devices, 20 digital voice recorders, 20 LED/LCD mini projector and 20 scanners. The remaining items are 5 professional mobile scanners, 20 routers and 20 office SIM handset for voice communication.