A Professor of Finance at the University of Ghana Business School Legon, Professor Godfred Alufar Bopkin, has urged media practitioners, especially journalists, to take keen interest in Public Financial Management (PFM) and Fiscal Decentralisation reporting.
Speaking at a two-day seminar, which was organised by the German Government Development Corporation (GIZ), in partnership with Media Foundation for West Africa, he said the PFM would properly hold personnel at the national, regional, municipal and district levels responsible for the dissipation of public funds accountable.
It was also aimed at ensuring the understanding of the journalists in financial management systems, as well as equipping them with practical skills to monitor public expenditure and promote accountability in governance.
Participants were also taken through budget analysis focusing on three key areas, namely revenue analysis, expenditure analysis and variation analysis.
Prof. Bopkin stated that the participants were taken through key concepts of practical approaches to budget analysis and fiscal decentralisation.
Revenue sources examination
He explained how journalists could systematically examine revenue sources, including Internally Generated Fund (IGF), District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) Grants, Fees and other inflows to assess performance trends, sustainability and accountability.
Prof. Bopkin further highlighted methods for analysing public expenditure by examining spending patterns across sectors and programmes, identifying inefficiencies, infractions, waste and cost overruns while assessing whether expenditure aligned with development priorities and approved plans.
He also guided the participants through variance analysis, a process that compares budgeted figures with actual performance to identify deviations, understand reasons for underperformance or overspending and at the same time support informed public discourse on government spending.
Prof. Bopkin indicated that the media played a critical role in promoting transparency and accountability by scrutinising public budgets, expenditures and translating complex financial information into understandable reports for citizens.
Investigative stories
The Legon University don also took the media practitioners through practical exercises using national budget data to enable them to enhance their knowledge in tracking government spending, analysing budget performance and producing investigative stories.
That, he stated, would influence policy decisions to further improve public service delivery.
For his part, the Component Manager in charge of the PAIReD Programme of the GIZ, Dr Tuergen Ehrke, stated that gaps in oversight and accountability often contributed to the misuse of public resources and weak service delivery.
He stated that empowering journalists with knowledge and skills on public financial management (PFM) would strengthen public interest reporting and enhance citizen participation in governance.
Dr Ehrke told the participants that the training formed part of broader efforts under a programme commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
He indicated that it was co-financed by the European Union and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and implemented by GIZ in collaboration with Ghana’s Ministry of Finance.
Some of the participants, who were highly elated about the event, told the Daily Graphic that the organisation of the seminar had been timely, as well as insightful for the betterment of journalists in PFM reporting.
They gave an assurance that the knowledge gained would be applied to promote transparency, accountability and judicious management of public resources across their respective regions.
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