The effectiveness of medium-term expenditureframework in public budgeting: The case of Ghana

Most countries for the past decades have adopted medium-term expenditure frameworks to replace the old incremental approach of budget process. For every country that wants to achieve growth and development goals, to improve its efficient use of limited public resources, obtain a long-term economic success, create the highest level of transparency and accountability in government funds, reform of ineffective system as well as processes are important. MTEF is a reform initiative aimed at targeting the budgetary processes which is entangled with various deficiencies. There is concern that despite the introduction of MTEF into the Ghana's budget process, it has still not resulted in much better budgeting outcomes of linking policy formulation, planning and budgeting, hence the rational for this study. This thesis investigates what lies beyond the introduction of an MTEF in Ghana; the effectiveness of MTEF in the public sector and how public resources are allocated in view of the medium-term perspectives. Questionnaires as well as interviews are used to solid data for this thesis. The thesis finds out among other things that Ghana's budget is based on medium term approach and has achieved a lot throughout the implementation. However, there are some deficiencies within the medium term perspective to budgeting with regards to the connection between policy formulation, planning and budgeting; resources ceiling; sector working groups; comprehensiveness; allocative efficiency etc. which undermines the credibility of MTEF. Recommendations and suggestions have accordingly been made to improve upon the MTEF in Ghana.