Ghana’s public sector finances: Recent developments and issues

Abstract

Ghana’s public sector is fairly large and diverse. Of the different components of the public sector (central government, public enterprises and local authorities), the central government plays a dominant role in resource mobilization, raising resources for financing not only its expenditures, but also for meeting a substantial proportion of public enterprises and local authorities demands for public funds. The central government also directly provides a good part of the economic and social services, with the local authorities playing a relatively less important role. Public enterprises, playing a major role in virtually all sectors of economy (power generation, transport, mining, manufacturing, forestry, trade, oil refining and distribution, and so on), have accounted for the bulk of public investment.