GHANA

Ghana is a unitary country organised as a constitutional republic with a unicameral parliament. The president is the head of State and government, elected directly for a maximum of two four-year terms, as is also the case for the 275 members of Parliament. The cabinet, known as the Council of Ministers, is nominated by the president and approved by Parliament. There are two advisory bodies to the president: the House of Chiefs, whose membership is hereditary, and the Council of State, which is comprised of 31 prominent citizens, indirectly elected representatives of the regions and members appointed by the president. The executive and legislative arms of the State are based on political representation and constitute the national level of government. An independent judiciary is led by the supreme court, whose members are nominated by the president of the republic and vetted by Parliament before their appointment. The local level of governance is enshrined in Article 240/1 and Article 241/3 of the current 1992 Constitution. They state that “Ghana shall have a system of local government and administration which shall, as far as practicable, be decentralised” and that “a district assembly shall be the highest political authority in the district, and shall have deliberative, legislative and executive powers”.

The Government of Ghana has pursued decentralisation reforms for several decades, as part of wider efforts to enhance good governance. From 1859, when municipal councils were established in the major coastal towns, until 1988, ordinances and acts explicitly established the distinction between the central and local levels, although that did not entail an effective devolution of powers and resources. The creation of district assemblies in 1988 by the Provisional National Defence Council marked the beginning of major administrative reforms in the country. The objectives of the decentralisation reform are enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. In particular, Article 35 (6) (d) provides that the “State shall take appropriate measures to make democracy a reality by decentralising the administrative and financial machinery of government to the regions and districts and by affording all possible opportunities to the people to participate in decision-making at every level in national life and in government”.

Since 2010, Ghana has elaborated quadrennial National Decentralisation Action Plans (2010-2014 and 2015-2019), with the objectives of clarifying the roles of traditional authorities and civil society groups in local governance and the development of a comprehensive, well-sequenced approach to decentralisation. The National Decentralisation Action Plan of 2020-2024 further establishes the policy measures to ensure that the “funds follow functions” principle is followed. These policies include the empowerment of the newly created metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) in 2019, the enhancement of the assemblies’ revenue mobilisation capacity and local economic development, establishing a strong link between medium term development plans and spatial planning, as well as a focus on inter-governmental fiscal relations. The main legislation for local governance is the Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936) with Amendment (Act 940). Further legislative texts that deepen decentralisation and local governance include: Civil Service Law 1993 (PNDC Law 327), National Development Planning Act 1994 (Act 480), Institute of Local Government Studies Act 2003 (Act 647), Public Financial Management Act 2016 (Act 921) and Land use and Spatial Planning Act 2016 (Act 925).

TERRITORIAL ORGANISATION
MUNICIPAL LEVEL	INTERMEDIATE LEVEL	REGIONAL LEVEL	TOTAL NUMBER OF SNGs (2022)
6 metropolitan, 117 municipal and 138 district assemblies
Average municipal size: 115 249 inhabitants
261			261

OVERALL DESCRIPTION: Metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) constitute the decentralised local governments in Ghana. As of April 2022, there were 6 metropolitan assemblies (Accra, Tema, Cape Coast, Sekondi-Takoradi, Kumasi and Tamale), 117 municipal assemblies and 138 district assemblies in Ghana. In October 2019, the last district assembly was created by the Local Government (Guan District) Instrument (2019) L.I. 2416, raising the number of MMDAs to 261. For purposes of administration and oversight of local governments, there are 16 regional coordinating councils in the respective regions of Ghana.

REGIONAL LEVEL: The Local Governance Act of 2016 (Act 936) establishes regional coordinating councils (RCCs) in accordance with Article 255 of the Constitution as deconcentrated administrative bodies of central government. At the regional level, the RCCs represent the highest political and administrative bodies. The RCCs are headed by a regional minister and one or more deputies appointed by the president. Membership of RCCs include: the presiding member and chief executive of each MMDA; two traditional leaders from the regional House of Chiefs; and regional heads of decentralised ministries in the region as members without voting rights. The main functions of the RCCs are to coordinate, monitor, harmonise and evaluate plans, programmes, activities and performance of MMDAs in their regions, review and coordinate public services, as well as to carry out any other function assigned to them by legal enactment.

MUNICIPAL LEVEL: MMDAs are classified by virtue of population and other non-demographic factors. Metropolitan assemblies are mainly urban areas with a minimum population of 250 000; municipal assemblies are single-town jurisdictions with a minimum population of 95 000; and district assemblies constitute a combination of rural areas and small towns with a minimum population of 75 000.

Metropolitan assemblies are composed of four institutional bodies (metropolitan assembly, sub-metropolitan district councils, town councils and unit committees); municipal assemblies have three tiers (municipal assembly, zonal councils and unit committees); and district assemblies also comprise three tiers (district assembly, urban/town/area councils and unit committees). The sub-district structures do not have legislative powers but play a vital role in local governance, particularly in enhancing citizen participation. These units are also empowered to undertake mobilisation for communal labour, environmental protection and registering births and deaths, and they contribute to revenue collection when some revenue items are ceded to them by MMDAs.

Politically and administratively, the MMDAs are headed by a chief executive who is nominated by the president of the Republic and comes into office only by prior approval of a two-thirds majority of the members of the district assembly present and voting at the meeting. The chief executive is also the representative of the national government at the local government level. Elected and non-elected members constitute the general assembly of each district assembly, which is chaired by a presiding member nominated and approved by two-thirds of all members. While 70% of the members are elected by universal suffrage on a non-partisan basis, the president appoints the other 30% by virtue of their experience and expertise. As the legislative body, the general assembly is the approving authority for projects and programmes of MMDAs before execution. The executive functions of the MMDAs are the responsibility of the executive committee chaired by the chief executive. The executive committee has five statutory sub-committees (development planning, social services, works, justice and security, finance and administration), which make recommendations and report directly to it.

Local elections take place every four years for elected members of the MMDAs. The last local elections took place in 2019. An MMDA implements decisions of the general assembly through the departments of the assembly - metropolitan assemblies (16 departments), municipal assemblies (13 departments) and district assemblies (11 departments).

HORIZONTAL COOPERATION: Since 1962, the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) is the association promoting nationwide decentralised cooperation and advocacy. NALAG is made up of both elected members and all metropolitan, municipal and district assembly chief executives (MMDCEs) who are appointed by central government. Since MMDCEs’ tenure of office is determined by the president, the advocacy and lobbying function of NALAG for the needed reforms to strengthen local governance is weakened to some extent.

In 2020, a Local Government Practitioners Handbook was developed for assembly members by the Institute of Local Government Studies and was used for trainings across the country. The handbook outlines all the national policies and laws relevant for the performance of the duties of assembly members and their duties in their communities.

In 2020, the Local Government Practitioners Forum was launched by NALAG and other key local government stakeholders. This platform aims to provide an inclusive space for actors from the central/local governments, academia, private enterprises, media, politicians/political parties and other non-state actors to assess, dialogue and engage intellectually towards consensus in order to inform policies backed by research, evidence and practice. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the platform has had limited events since its beginnings.

Responsibilities of subnational governments are defined by the Local Governance Act of 2016 (Act 936) which mandates MMDAs as the political, administrative authority in the respective jurisdictions. Assemblies are designated to have legislative, deliberative and executive powers that mandate them with development, planning and rating responsibilities towards improving service delivery to spearhead development at the local level. The MMDAs development mandate empowers them to manage overall development issues in their jurisdiction, irrespective of whether they have a direct responsibility or not. The planning mandate empowers MMDAs to develop plans focusing on local priorities and with the necessary budget to execute and deliver services to citizens as well as manage spatial planning through physical development permitting. Lastly, the rating mandate assigns MMDAs the responsibility of fixing charges and fees for devolved revenues while improving the needed strategies to collect them.

Assemblies largely outsource waste management services due to the high capital outlay in securing and maintaining the equipment. They also tend to outsource revenue operations where they have limited capacity and managing systems. Other responsibilities of subnational governments are the coordination and integration of their plans and projects with that of the national level.

Main responsibility sectors and sub-sectors
SECTORS AND SUB-SECTORS	Municipal level
1. General public services (administration)	Administrative services; Civil status register; Statistical Office;
2. Public order and safety	Municipal Guards, civil protection and emergency services; promotion of justice;
3. Economic affairs / transports	Local roads; Public transport; Trade and industry; Tourism; Support to local enterprises and entrepreneurs; agriculture, rural development, irrigation
4. Environment protection	Environmental management and improvement; Sanitation
5. Housing and community amenities	Development of infrastructure; Development, management, and improvement of human settlements; Urban and land use planning; Municipal works; Water provision; Refuse collection; Management of cemeteries; Crematories; Slaughterhouses
6. Health	Primary care; Hospitals; Public health protection
7. Culture & Recreation	Sports and recreation; libraries; museums; cultural activities; cultural heritage;
8. Education	Pre-primary education; primary education; education sponsorship; research
9. Social Welfare	Family welfare services; Welfare homes; Social Security

Scope of fiscal data: 260 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies

SNA 1993

Availability of fiscal data: Low

Quality/reliability of fiscal data: Low

GENERAL INTRODUCTION: Finances of local governments are established and regulated by the Local Governance Act of 2016 including the allocation of internally generated funds (IGF) and the district assemblies common fund (DACF). Expenditure is presented in the main budget and supplementary budget classifications. The Ministry of Finance and the controller and accountant general’s department have introduced two interventions to strengthen and enhance service delivery in the financial sector of the central and subnational government levels. These include the 2012 Ghana Integrated Finance Management and Information System (GIFMIS) and the 2016 Public Financial Management (PFM) Act 921. To improve the understanding of the financial management framework of Ghana, the PFM Act 921 aims to ensure discipline, effective and efficient use of public funds as well as safety, custody and integrity of public funds. The new PFM Act brings the accounting in line with the global trends while GIFMIS focuses mainly on automating the budgeting and accounting operations. In addition, the Ministry of Finance launched a national payment platform in 2021 to promote transparency in revenue collection by all government institutions as part of the overall digitalisation agenda.

The National Development Planning Commission issues guidelines for the preparation of a four-year District Medium Term Development Plan (DMTDP). The latest DMTDPs have been prepared in 2021 covering the period 2022-2025. Annual plans are prepared based on local priorities to facilitate implementation of the DMTDP and they form the basis for the preparation of annual budgets which are also based on guidelines of the Ministry of Finance. The issuance of guidelines for plan and budget preparation ensures that local level priorities have a strong link with national development objectives. The DMTDPs and annual plans and budgets provide the basis for executing the responsibility of the MMDAs after they are approved by the general assembly. Since 2019, the national government’s fiscal policy for economic development focuses on developing a vibrant economy through collaboration with the private sector and has resulted in policies to outsource some administrative functions including revenue collection of MMDAs to private entities.

Subnational government expenditure by economic classification
2020	Dollars PPP / inhabitant	% GDP	% general government	% subnational government
Total expenditure	9	0.4%	1.7%	100.0%
Inc. current expenditure	9	0.4%	1.8%	97.0%
Compensation of employees	5	0.2%	2.6%	51.9%
Intermediate consumption	4	0.2%	4.3%	42.8%
Social expenditure	0.03	0.0%	0.5%	0.4%
Subsidies and current transfers	-	-	-	-
Financial charges	-	-	-	-
Others	0.2	0.0%	0.7%	2.0%
Incl. capital expenditure	0.3	0.0%	0.7%	3.0%
Capital transfers	-	-	-	-
Direct investment (or GFCF)	0.3	0.0%	0.9%	3.0%

EXPENDITURE: Financial data is available on the expenditure of 260 out of 261 MMDAs, as the last MMDA was not operational in 2020 and its operation costs were part of an existing parent district. The total expenditure of MMDAs for 2020 FY represented only 1.7% of the general government expenditure and represented a 25.8% increase compared to 2019. Out of the total expenditure, 51.9% accounted for compensation of employees, 42.8% were expended on intermediate consumption, 0.4% went to current social expenditure and 3.0% (USD 0.3 PPP per inhabitant) were devoted to capital expenditure. The highest recurrent expense category for the MMDAs was staff expenditure of the assemblies and includes components of compensation of employees and other staff cost.

DIRECT INVESTMENT: In 2020, capital expenditure of MMDAs was of USD 0.3 PPP/inhabitant and 3.0% of total expenditure. Regulations of capital investment for MMDAs are governed by the Public Procurement Act 2003 (Act 663) as amended with Act 914. The Public Private Partnership Act of 2020 (Act 1039) came into force in 2020 and requires MMDAs’ public-private partnership (PPP) agreements to be approved by the general assembly in line with their standing orders according to the allowable ceiling by level of districts. Regional coordinating councils have the responsibility of reviewing all PPPs before agreements are formalised. Application of PPPs are to be guided by the tenets of the public procurement requirements.

Subnational government expenditure by functional classification
2020	Dollars PPP / inhabitant	% GDP	% general government	% subnational government
Total expenditure by economic function	13	0.6%	-	100.0%
1. General public services	10	0.4%	3.0%	71.7%
2. Defence	-	-	-	-
3. Security and public order	0.1	0.0%	0.3%	0.8%
4. Economic affairs/transports	1	0.03%	2.6%	6.1%
5. Environmental protection	0.1	0.0%	4.7%	0.6%
6. Housing and community amenities	1	0.05%	22.6%	8.2%
7. Health	1	0.03%	1.4%	5.2%
8. Recreation, culture and religion	0.01	0.0%	0.3%	0.1%
9. Education	1	0.03%	0.9%	6.0%
10. Social protection	0.2	0.01%	2.7%	1.4%

According to expenditure information by functional classification for 260 MMDAs for 2020 FY, the highest expenditure item is general administration and management costs (USD 10 PPP/inhabitant, constituting 71.7% of total expenditure) followed by housing and community amenities (USD 1 PPP/inhabitant, representing 8.2% of total expenditure). In 2020, MMDAs spent the least (0.1% of their total expenditure) for recreation, culture and religion. MMDAs have no responsibility for defence, thus this expenditure is not included in the functional classification of their spending. The high cost of the general public services is due to personnel-related costs of the MMDAs.

Subnational government revenue by category
2020	Dollars PPP / inhabitant	% GDP	% general government	% subnational government
Total revenue	10	0.4%	3.3%	100.0%
Tax revenue	0.5	0.02%	0.2%	4.7%
Grants and subsidies	8	0.3%	-	78.4%
Tariffs and fees	1	0.04%	-	9.4%
Income from assets	0.7	0.03%	-	6.7%
Other revenues	0.1	0.0%	-	0.8%

OVERALL DESCRIPTION: The 1992 Constitution and the Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936) define revenue sources for MMDAs. Act 936 defines 3 main categories of revenue: decentralised transfers, internally generated funds (IGF) and donations and grants. Donations and grants are defined by law as funds received from donors and development partners. The decentralised transfers include the district assemblies common fund (DACF); grant-in-aid from the central government and any others revenue transferred from the central government to the district assembly. IGFs comprise revenue from all sources except grants and subsidies (licenses, fees and charges, taxes, investment income and rates) and represent 17.4% of subnational revenue. To set rates, MMDAs are informed by the “Guidelines for Charging of Fees for the Provision of Services and Facilities and Granting of Licenses and Permits by MMDAs” issued by the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development in 2021 after the first version in 2017.

The horizontal allocation of resources between subnational entities is transparent and rule-based only for approximately half of the transfers. Information on central government allocations to MMDAs is made available with significant delays after the start of the fiscal year and for some transfers, it is not available at all. Even when information is provided on the three main funding sources (the DACF, the district development facility or DDF and the minerals fund), the actual transfers may also be substantially delayed. These delays coupled with COVID-19 pandemic impacts have led to a significant accumulation of arrears which has undermined implementation of MMDAs’ budget in 2020.

TAX REVENUE: MMDAs have the authority to set rates and collect taxes for local development according to the Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936). Thus, there is a distinction between central and local government revenue assignments. Tax revenue at subnational government level represents 3.8% of total local revenues collected in 2020.

Property tax has the most potential for improving local revenue although their collection has generally been limited due to outdated systems and low awareness on this tax in most districts. In 2020, the 6 metropolitan assemblies contributed to 45% of total property rate collection in Ghana. In 2022, only 76 out of the 261 MMDAs had their properties mapped and valued for property tax purposes. Due to the absence of property rateable values, the most widespread method of assessing properties for rating purposes in Ghana has been the employment of rates that are not based on the requirements of law. By law, property tax in Ghana is expected to be used by the MMDAs to balance their budgets annually. Hence, the amount chargeable for property tax should be the difference between all other revenues and the total expenditure for any particular year. This requirement demands that MMDAs determine strategically the investments they intend to make in order to generate adequate revenue from property tax to cover those expenditures. The specific amount to be levied on a property is calculated by multiplying the depreciated replacement cost of landed property by a class factor to cover the needed revenue to be made. The process of property valuation was manually executed until 2020, when a tested new property valuation software was implemented in 49 MMDAs across the country in collaboration with GIZ. The digital approach is considered to be cheaper and more sustainable than the manual process. By March 2022, digital property valuation had been carried out in 5 out of 6 metropolitan assemblies, 54 out of 117 municipal assemblies and 15 out of 138 district assemblies.

Other taxes collected by MMDAs in addition to property rates include business licences (taxes for operating a business) and basic rates (taxes collected from residents between 18 and 70 years old of an assembly jurisdiction).

GRANTS AND SUBSIDIES: In FY 2020, total revenue of the 260 MMDAs for which financial data is available, was approximately 0.6% of GDP and 4.1% of general government revenue, of which grants and subsidies contributed 82.6%. Grants and subsidies of subnational governments include the district assemblies common fund (DACF), the DACF responsiveness factor grant (DACF-RFG) which replaced the district development facility (DDF) and the minerals fund called royalties. The DACF is a statutory requirement enshrined in the Constitution. It allocates not less than 5% of the total revenue of the State to local authorities, for investment in development projects and other purposes as defined by the 2020 formula for sharing the DACF. In addition, 10 to 20% of the reserve fund is retained to provide resources to members of Parliament for district projects as well as the 16 regional coordinating councils for their statutory functions. The DACF is disbursed a quarter in arrears and the distribution among MMDAs is calculated based on four factors. In 2020 the factors covered: “basic needs” (health and education, water coverage and tarred road coverage); “responsiveness” (excluded for 2020 and instead used as a government contribution for the DDF, hence the DACF-RFG); “service pressure” (resulting from rural/urban migration); and “equity” (a basic amount shared equally among all MMDAs before other factors are applied).

The district development facility (DDF) in 2020, became the DACF-RFG as a performance-based grant incentive fund providing resources to the MMDAs for socio-economic development projects and capacity building. The fund is constituted of a pool of resources from donors as well as the government of Ghana. Per the design of the fund, MMDAs that perform satisfactorily in the annual district performance assessment tool (DPAT) receive additional resources, while others that do not meet the requirements receive a minimal amount allocated for capacity building. The DACF-RFG has been used as a tool to encourage MMDAs to conform to legal regulatory frameworks and to establish a link between incentive for performance and capacity building support.

OTHER REVENUES: Out of all IGFs, tariffs and fees accounted for greatest proportion of returns and more specifically, revenue from business operating permits (business licences), fees, property rates and lands (ground rent collected from landowners annually and revenue from royalties) were the highest contributors to IGF and they represented 21.9% of the total revenue of the assemblies. Other sources including rent, revenue from fines and miscellaneous accounted for 22%, 31% and 3.7% of IGF respectively, representing 0.6% of MMDA revenue in total.

Subnational government fiscal rules and debt
2020	Dollars PPP / inh.	% GDP	% general government debt	% SNG debt	% SNG financial debt
Total outstanding debt	0.2	0.01%	0.01%	100.0%	-
Financial debt	-	-	-	-	-
Currency and deposits	-	-	-	-	-
Bonds / debt securities	-	-	-	-	-
Loans	-	-	-	-	-
Insurance pensions	-	-	-	-	-
Other accounts payable	0.2	-	-	100.0%	-

FISCAL RULES: The Public Financial Management Act 2016 (Act 921) sets out fiscal regulations with the objective of maintaining a sustainable level of fiscal balance to ensure macroeconomic stability within Ghana’s fiscal framework. Subnational budgeting is based on a composite budgeting approach where MMDAs and their departments prepare a joint budget based on programmes to ensure that service delivery is designed in a coordinated manner. The budgeting task is informed by Article 179 (1) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and Regulation 20 (3) of the Public Financial Regulations. The guidelines for the preparation of 2021-2024 budget issued by the Ministry of Finance includes gender responsive budgeting elements.

Before spending can be initiated, MMDA budgets, including a procurement plan for investment projects, must be approved by the general assembly and then uploaded unto the Ghana Integrated Finance Management and Information System (GIFMIS) platform. This digital platform guarantees the initiation of projects and programmes and the execution of payments for services rendered that are approved, promoting financial prudence in the management of public resources.

DEBT: The PFM allows local governments to borrow within the country, up to the limit determined by the Minister of Finance, in consultation with the Minister for Local Government and according to the medium-term fiscal balance strategy (PFM Act Section 74:1b). The Minister of Finance may issue a guarantee to back up a debt undertaken by MMDAs, provided that the Minister considers the beneficiary of the guarantee to have the capacity to fulfil its contracted obligations (PFM Act Section 74:2b). If a local government wishes to borrow an amount above the limit set by the Minister or to issue debt securities to the public, it must first obtain written approval from the Minister of Finance. Upon the issuance of a debt security or the contraction of an overdraft, the local government must submit a record of the transaction to the Minister of Finance within 10 working days (PFM Act Section 75).

Total debt of MMDAs for the 2020 FY was of USD 0.2 PPP/inhabitant, which represents 0.01% of GDP. Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly had the highest debt constituting fees payable to service providers and debts accumulated by virtue of court judgements.

TERRITORIAL MANAGEMENT OF THE CRISIS: Ghana recorded its first case of COVID-19 in March 2020. This immediately led to a response both at the national and subnational levels of government. At the national level, the Inter-Ministerial Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 was constituted, headed by the president of the Republic. The mandate of the task force was to coordinate efforts to contain the spread of the virus, treat infected patients and facilitate social and economic recovery. It held weekly meetings to review the COVID-19 situation in the country and to make policies for its management. Through televised national addresses, the president updated the citizens on measures put in place to contain the crisis. In these addresses all policies were outlined and ministries, departments, agencies and the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) were to follow up with implementation after official communication was issued in that regard.

Immediate national level measures included restrictions on travel (closure of land, sea and air borders to human mobility), school and workplace closures, increased testing of persons with COVID-19 symptoms, treatment of infected people and partial lockdowns in Greater Accra and Kumasi, the two epicentres of the pandemic. These partial lockdowns lasted 14 days and during which period human movement into and out of the epicentres was also restricted.

The Coronavirus Alleviation Programme (CAP) and the COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (EPRP) were launched by the central government in May 2020. The objective of the EPRP was to prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 and strengthen national systems for public health preparedness in Ghana. Although the programme was developed at the national level, subnational governments were responsible for implementation using the administrative structures within the regional coordinating councils and the MMDAs. In MMDAs, COVID-19 response activities were aligned with the functions of the various departments and implementation carried out respectively.

Sections 112, 113, 114, 115 of the Local Governance Act provide for the role of MMDAs in response to emergencies. They are given the responsibility of coordinating the activities of services, organisations and decentralised departments and agencies in the implementation of response plans. These provisions are the basis and guidelines for subnational governments’ implementation of the COVID-19 response programme (CAP) and plan (EPRP).

EMERGENCY MEASURES TO COPE WITH THE CRISIS AT THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT: MMDAs supported and coordinated the distribution of food to households and fumigation of markets and public places between March and May 2020 in Ghana. In addition, face masks and sanitary supplies (hand sanitizers, public hand-washing systems, soap, etc.) were provided to communities by MMDAs to encourage hygiene. To make up for lost income in households, MMDAs supported the distribution of loans managed by the National Board for Small Scale Industries and destined to entrepreneurs in their districts, and deferred payments on taxes due to the assemblies. A number of development agencies working with local governments provided personal protective equipment (PPE) to complement government efforts at managing the pandemic.

IMPACTS OF THE CRISIS ON SUBNATIONAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE: There is limited data on the impact of COVID-19 on the income and expenditure of subnational governments. Data on MMDA revenue and expenditure indicate a negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the finances of assemblies across the country.

Overall, the MMDAs’ revenue performance data shows that in 2020 FY, MMDA revenue increased by around 26% comparted to 2019, due to an increase in grants transferred from the central government for mitigating impacts of the pandemic. However, this revenue performance and effective collection for 260 MMDAs in 2020 (USD 393.7 million PPP) reveals a 28% shortfall compared to budgeted revenue (USD 548.2 million PPP). This is mainly attributed to the deferral of local level taxes by MMDAs for the 2020 fiscal year including tariffs, fees and property taxes. The objectives of deferring payments and allowing leniency in revenue enforcement were to provide relief to businesses and property owners experiencing loss of income due to the pandemic.

Expenditure of subnational governments increased by over 50% in 2020. This resulted from Assemblies incurring routine expenditure and implementing initiatives to curb the impact of COVID-19 within their jurisdictions. These initiatives included provision of food and other materials to the poor and vulnerable.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL STIMULUS PLANS: There is limited information on social and stimulus plans at the subnational level. At the national level, the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme Business Support Scheme (CAP-Buss) and the Ghana COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalisation of Enterprises Support (CARES) Programme are being implemented since March 2020 to provide up to USD 17 billion PPP of social and economic relief to households, businesses and institutions. The objective of CAP-Buss is to protect against job losses, support livelihoods and small businesses. The Ghana CARES Programme is a three and a half-year comprehensive programme to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, return the country to a sustained path of robust growth and to create a more resilient and transformed economy. These programmes fall under objectives 4 and 5 of Ghana’s COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (EPRP).