Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No: ICR00004771 IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETION AND RESULTS REPORT TF018055 ON A SMALL GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF USD0.85 MILLION EQUIVALENT TO THE Republic of Ghana FOR MAKING THE BUDGET WORK FOR GHANA (P150856) July 31, 2019 Governance Global Practice Africa Region Regional Vice President: Hafez M. H. Ghanem Country Director: Pierre Frank Laporte Regional Director: Asad Alam Practice Manager: Hisham Ahmed Waly Task Team Leader(s): Smile Kwawukume ICR Main Contributor: Smile Kwawukume ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS CHIPS Community Health Planning Services CPS Country Partnership Strategy CSOs Civil Society Organizations DAs District Assemblies CHPS Community-based Health Planning and Services DACF District Assembly Common Fund DCMC District Citizens Monitoring Committees FM Financial Management GAS Ghana Audit Service GoG Government of Ghana GPR Grant Progress Report GPSA Global Partnership for Social Accountability ICT Information Communication Technology ISR Implementation Status Results Report IFMIS Integrated Financial Management Information System LMIC Lower Middle-Income Country M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MTEF Medium Term Expenditure Framework MDAs Ministries, Departments and Agencies MMDAs Municipal and Ministry District Assemblies MoF Ministry of Finance MOU Memorandum of Understanding MTR Mid-Term Review PDO Project Development Objective PETs Public Tracking Expenditure Surveys PFM Public Finance Management PME Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation RCCs Regional Coordinating Councils PMT Project Management Team RETF Recipient Executed Trust Fund SA Social Accountability CHPS ToT Trainer of Trainers TABLE OF CONTENTS DATA SHEET ....................................................................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. I. PROJECT CONTEXT AND DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES ....................................................... 4 II. OUTCOME .................................................................................................................... 11 III. KEY FACTORS THAT AFFECTED IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTCOME ................................ 13 IV. BANK PERFORMANCE, COMPLIANCE ISSUES, AND RISK TO DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME .. 14 V. LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................. 15 ANNEX 1. RESULTS FRAMEWORK AND KEY OUTPUTS ........................................................... 17 ANNEX 2. PROJECT COST BY COMPONENT ........................................................................... 31 ANNEX 3. RECIPIENT, CO-FINANCIER AND OTHER PARTNER/STAKEHOLDER COMMENTS ...... 31 ANNEX 4. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS (IF ANY) .................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED. The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) DATA SHEET BASIC INFORMATION Product Information Project ID Project Name P150856 Making the Budget Work for Ghana Country Financing Instrument Ghana Investment Project Financing Original EA Category Revised EA Category Not Required (C) Not Required (C) Organizations Borrower Implementing Agency Republic of Ghana SEND GHANA Project Development Objective (PDO) Original PDO The overall project development objective is to improve access and quality of services in priority programs in the health and education sectors in approximately 30 districts in Ghana by strengthening accountability and transparency in the budget process by 2018. FINANCING FINANCE_TBL Original Amount (US$) Revised Amount (US$) Actual Disbursed (US$) Donor Financing TF-18055 850,000 850,000 829,799 Total 850,000 850,000 829,799 Total Project Cost 850,000 850,000 829,799 Page 1 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) KEY DATES Approval Effectiveness Original Closing Actual Closing 22-Oct-2014 04-Nov-2014 04-Nov-2018 31-Jan-2019 RESTRUCTURING AND/OR ADDITIONAL FINANCING Date(s) Amount Disbursed (US$M) Key Revisions 29-Oct-2018 0.85 Change in Results Framework Change in Loan Closing Date(s) KEY RATINGS Outcome Bank Performance M&E Quality Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Satisfactory Modest RATINGS OF PROJECT PERFORMANCE IN ISRs Actual No. Date ISR Archived DO Rating IP Rating Disbursements (US$M) 01 12-Dec-2016 Satisfactory Satisfactory 0.50 02 06-Feb-2018 Satisfactory Satisfactory 0.85 ADM STAFF Role At Approval At ICR Regional Vice President: Makhtar Diop Hafez M. H. Ghanem Country Director: Yusupha B. Crookes Pierre Frank Laporte Director: Robert R. Hunja Asad Alam Practice Manager: Roberto Adrian Senderowitsch Hisham Ahmed Waly Task Team Leader(s): Gabriel Dedu Smile Kwawukume ICR Contributing Author: Smile Kwawukume Page 2 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) Page 3 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) I. PROJECT CONTEXT AND DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES Context at Appraisal 1. Ghana has experienced two decades of strong and sustained economic growth. The average Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate from 2001 to 2008 was a robust 5.6 percent and has translated into substantial poverty reduction—the national poverty rate fell from 52 percent in 1992 to 29 percent in 2006. Conservative simulations based on observed patterns of sectoral GDP growth suggest that the share of the population in poverty may have decreased from 29 percent in 2006 to 23.6 percent nationally by 2012. Despite this progress, there are various challenges undermining economic management in Ghana. One of the most important risks is macroeconomic imbalances, stemming from both the low level of international reserves and the continuing fast pace of public debt accumulation. This macroeconomic instability compromises the capacity to deliver basic services, affects the poor who are the least able to hedge against adverse impacts, and undermines investment and growth. Against this backdrop, Ghana has seen its fiscal position deteriorate because of a growing current account deficit. 2. Ghana is a relatively good performer in both economic and political terms. The country has now managed two democratic transitions successfully with its most recent election in 2012, which according to national and international observers, was well managed and free of significant disruptions. Ghana has discovered new reserves of oil and gas and recently attained Lower Middle-Income Country (LMIC) status according to the World Bank per-capita threshold for classification. Notwithstanding its sustained progress, Ghana’s governance building blocks continue to be weak and the capacity of its public administration is well below the average of other LMICs. 3. A series of recent reports and political economy analyses identify an entrenched culture of political patronage and top-down socio-political structures in Ghana, a highly centralized system of Government, limited public administration capacity, weak systems of formal and informal checks and balances, and a cycle of over-spending around electoral periods. Moreover, while anti-corruption legal frameworks exist, their implementation and enforcement are weak. Access to Government information, particularly disaggregated expenditure, is limited. Parliament has since approved a right to information bill in May 2019. Budget data is highly aggregated despite quarterly publication of budget execution reports. In addition, according the Open Budget Index 2014, Ghana only scores 50 out of 100 in budget transparency, 8 out of 100 on access to information on the Global Integrity Index, and a 2.48 (out of a total of 4) on the Sustainable Media Index, largely due to the poor quality of press coverage in the country. 4. In terms of Ghana’s Public financial Management (PFM) systems, there have been serious concerns regarding the deterioration of budget credibility, the build-up of expenditure arrears, and compliance with expenditure controls. These PFM shortcomings have been mainly driven by the poor record in attaining desired PFM reforms outcomes, such as: a well-functioning Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), an Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), and greater coordination in the management Page 4 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) and use of resource flows to Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, and District level organizations. The lack of progress in this area has resulted in substantial lags in service delivery quality and provision to the poorest sectors in the country, particularly in the delivery of health and education services at the district level. 5. The relationship between Government and civil society has undertaken a series of positive transformations with the enactment of a new constitution in 1992. During this period, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have evolved from having minimal involvement to becoming active players at various stages of the policy-making cycle. At the same time, the Government of Ghana has demonstrated an increased willingness to engage with citizens and foster partnerships with them, as reflected in the emerging collaborative arrangements between local authorities and CSOs to tackle development problems at the local level. The promotion of the civil society space has been made possible due to the Government’s proactive stance to facilitate spaces for public participation and support CSO engagement in public policy-making processes. This progress has been coupled by CSOs’ improved capacity to organize, mobilize, and articulate goals and strategies to influence public policy-making. However, despite improvements in Government-CSO relationships, the implementation of more formal and institutionalized citizen engagement mechanisms at the policy-level has not yet materialized. 6. In the last decades, the Government of Ghana (GoG) has embarked on a renewed commitment to implement far-reaching decentralization reforms, as demonstrated by the enactment of the 1993 Local Governance Law and the 2010 Decentralization Policy Framework. The main objective behind these policies is to devolve decision-making to local authorities and to improve the accountability and effectiveness of basic service delivery. However, the newly delegated authority and resources acquired by decentralized institutions has raised serious concerns due to weak financial accounting and reporting mechanisms, as well as lack of robust upward and downward social accountability channels. These challenges are further aggravated by the multiplicity of decentralization laws and regulations, and the emergence of divergent and often incompatible practices at the local level, resulting in serious differences between GoG’s plans and actions at the local level. 7. The implications of decentralization reforms have had a direct impact on District Assemblies (DAs), the highest political authority at the district level and one of the main institutional bodies benefiting from the project intervention. DAs have the power to set and collect local revenues, but they are highly dependent on transfers from the central Government, the most important of which is the District Assemblies’ Common F und. This dependency on funding from the central Government translates into a limited ability of DAs to set their local expenditure priorities. DAs must submit their annual budgets to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) for approval. This has resulted in an unpredictable flow of resources, which makes it difficult for local Governments to respond to the needs of citizens and undermines citizen participation opportunities that exist in the planning and budgeting process. The institutional arrangements in policy-making are similar. Even though DAs are responsible for the provision of basic education and public health services, the central Government retains control over setting health and education policy. This institutional arrangement results in poor service delivery and a mismatch between policies, expenditures and outcomes at the local level. 8. As more powers and resources are being decentralized, ensuring that local Governments are being held accountable to central Government as well as to their citizens becomes increasingly important. Linkages Page 5 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) between citizens and their assemblies are currently weak, but they are critical to support this process and help strengthen the capacity of local Government to design and manage local development interventions. Financial accounting and reporting systems need to be strengthened. While the Ghana Audit Service (GAS) carries out external audits of local Governments, the quality and timeliness of such audits and the extent of follow-up of audit recommendations need to be improved. 9. More specifically, in the context of service provision in the education and health sector, the decentralization and efficient management of resources face substantial challenges. Despite channeling 23.2 percent of Government expenditures to the education sector in 2010, the education financing system in Ghana is severely fragmented, resulting in the inadequate provision of education services. This contributes to poor learning outcomes and low enrollment rates that disproportionately affect the poorest households. In the health sector, the Government has enacted a significant number of legislations and reforms to move towards universal health insurance policy. Ghana is one of the few countries in the African continent to move in this direction and to publicly fund health services for the poor. However, the process towards universal healthcare has been fraught with difficulties due to poor coordination among various institutions and the lack of control of budgets and expenditures by DAs. Resources tend to be earmarked or executed at the central level, leaving no discretion at the local level. Inadequate financial resources and delays in budgetary allocations have hampered service delivery and the expansion of health infrastructure. Under this trajectory, Ghana is unlikely to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets for child and maternal mortality. 10. Given the institutional and sectorial context in Ghana, Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) and specially targeted DAs would benefit from direct citizen feedback and budget monitoring information. This information will allow them to comply with fiscal decentralization requirement through increased engagement with civil society actors, and be able to influence budget allocation, using an evidence-based approach, in subsequent years. The project will also contribute to strengthen the planning, monitoring and evaluation systems of the ministries of Finance, Health, Education; and the oversight capacity of relevant parliamentary sub-committees, 11. The overall PDO was to improve access and quality of services in priority programs in the health and education sectors in 30 districts in Ghana by strengthening accountability and transparency in the budget process by 2018. Key Expected Outcomes and Outcome Indicators 12. The PDO was not revised. However, some of the indicators were revised. The revised Results Framework did not provide enough data on the outcome but the Ministry of Education has a wealth of information in a database (Education Management Information System, EMIS). Data from EMIS has been used to assess the outcomes. 13. Unpacking the PDO statement, four key outcomes are identified with key PDO indicators in the results framework to assess the achievement as follows: Table . Quality and Access to Education Mathematics English Science Enrollment rate MMDA % Pass % Pass % Pass Page 6 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) 2014 2018 2014 2018 2014 2018 2014 2018 Adentan 67.3 84.0 90.0 96.1 74.3 84.6 122.1 142.9 Ashiaman 71.7 90.4 80.6 95.9 74.6 90.6 43.3 58.7 Ga East 67.4 84.4 85.6 94.4 76.1 89.1 60.8 76.1 Ga South 81.1 86.9 87.5 91.6 81.9 84.7 30.8 33.3 Ada East 41.0 44.9 58.1 77.3 43.3 64.0 39.3 44.2 Shai-Osudoku 29.0 43.2 54.5 70.8 43.1 52.3 65.2 72.4 Accra Metro (Ablekuma South Sub- metro) 70.7 81.4 82.0 91.2 74.6 82.4 43.3 38.8 Jirapa 34.8 46.4 29.0 31.4 42.6 46.4 33.7 33.6 Sissala East 36.6 54.4 55.2 61.5 49.9 58.5 42.5 47.8 Sissala West 25.8 49.1 20.4 46.3 31.8 49.2 61.9 51.9 Lambussie Karni 27.3 39.0 31.1 43.0 27.7 47.2 57.4 41.8 Wa East 51.0 99.4 41.2 88.1 58.1 96.7 25.4 30.4 Wa West 46.9 44.1 32.3 39.3 50.0 46.1 40.3 36.7 Wa Municipal 47.3 66.0 46.9 66.0 57.2 62.9 90.1 85.3 Tolon 43.5 90.6 31.9 83.0 33.3 89.8 58.0 53.7 East Gonja 18.7 88.5 23.8 65.8 23.8 73.6 23.2 20.8 West Gonja 23.8 38.2 27.8 49.1 24.9 35.1 60.9 46.4 Yendi 58.5 74.3 52.7 62.6 44.6 70.2 51.4 59.7 Tamale Metro 33.9 48.6 44.8 61.3 40.5 51.5 76.4 74.4 West Mamprusi, 71.8 98.5 61.5 91.1 46.7 98.7 47.0 52.9 Saboba 40.6 49.1 20.9 43.8 34.9 51.9 48.3 43.3 Savelugu 17.5 56.4 12.8 31.9 14.2 43.7 52.3 71.8 Nanumba North 82.4 98.1 91.3 74.6 85.3 88.7 44.6 47.3 Garu 49.4 57.8 37.0 53.4 41.9 52.1 43.2 36.7 Bawku MA 36.2 41.1 30.3 56.9 41.2 44.6 45.9 50.0 Talensi 40.8 52.0 30.1 34.4 47.6 35.6 31.2 29.5 Bolgatanga 30.6 47.9 43.5 62.0 42.4 56.4 50.0 58.9 Bongo 24.3 64.3 31.3 52.9 40.6 53.4 49.6 48.4 Builsa North 20.8 80.5 26.9 56.4 28.0 49.1 36.7 44.6 Kassena Nankana MA 32.5 63.4 37.5 59.0 53.1 60.2 18.0 59.4 Source: Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Management Information System (EMIS) 2017/18 Report Outcome 1: Improving access to services in priority programs in the education sector in 30 districts Page 7 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) Data from EMIS indicate that access increased over the years since the project was launched in 2014. Table 1 shows that enrollment in the 30 districts increased on aerage from 49.76 percent in 2013 to 53.06 percent in 2018. Outcome 2: Improving quality of services in priority programs in the education sector in 30 districts Quality of priority programs in education (Mathematics, English and Science) improved overall in the 30 districts. Outcome 3: Improving access to services in priority programs in the health sector in 30 districts Outcome 4: Improving quality of services in priority programs in the health sector in 30 districts Main Beneficiaries: 14. The Project’s direct beneficiaries include: • All children of school-going age, women and children under-five, and persons with disabilities in approximately 30 districts in the Northern, Upper East, Upper West, and Greater Accra regions. 15. The Project’s indirect beneficiaries include: • All Ghanaian citizens and civil society organizations that may benefit from the information and knowledge generated by the Project, within and outside the targeted regions. The Project expects to design and implement a communication strategy (engage journalists and community radio stations) to disseminate relevant information and thus reach out to Ghanaian citizens and other critical groups to enhance citizens’ “political awareness.� • Municipal and Ministry Assembly (MMDAs) which will increase their capacity to comply with the fiscal decentralization requirements, through increased engagement with civil society actors as stated in the Decentralization Action Plan. Page 8 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) Components The project components as approved are presented in Table 1. Table 1: Project Components Project Component Original Cost % of Final Cost % of US$ Cost US$ Cost 1. Establishing enabling environment for 321,647.00 37.8 311, 000.00 37.5 CSOs/Government constructive engagement for Social Accountability in Ghana 2. Where does the money go? - Integrating 365,433.00 43.0 363,000.00 43.8 budget monitoring with service delivery outcomes 3. Project Management and Knowledge & 162,920.00 19.2 155,000.00 18.7 Learning Total Original Cost 850,000.00 830,000.00 A Balance of US$20,000 remained undisbursed in the Designated Account. The client has since been asked to return the unused funds. Details of the project component are as follows: Component 1: Establishing Enabling Environment for Social Accountability in Ghana 16. This component was aimed at creating the enabling environment for an effective and sustained CSO and Government engagement towards solving the identified governance challenges and achieving the proposed PDO. Activities financed under the project included the: (i) Renew/sign “Partnership Arrangements and Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs)� with relevant Government agencies, (ii) Strengthen the network management and institutional capacity of PME network members (30 focal NGOs) to lead and implement the project, (iii) Carry out capacity building activities on budget analysis, monitoring and advocacy, as well as on other relevant social accountability tools. Component 2: Where does the money go? - Integrating budget monitoring with service delivery outcomes 17. The objective of this component was to generate information – both through secondary data analysis and primary data collection – for government agencies on budgetary allocations and expenditures for education and health programs “vis a vis� service delivery outcomes in the 30 targeted districts. Citizen feedback was be used to complement data collected on service delivery outcomes (through surveys administered on direct beneficiaries). Proposed activities under this component were to support the implementation of SEND-Ghana’s PME action-oriented framework and its four inter-linked stages. This included: Page 9 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) i. (i) Budget Policy Literacy: Support to enhance understanding of CSOs and citizens on budget processes and relevant laws and regulation in Ghana, including through: (i) organizing budget literacy campaigns in targeted communities; (ii) conducting educational sessions on budget issues on community radio stations; (iii) conducting annual budget analyses and publishing policy briefs on budgetary allocations to improve development outcomes in health and education sector; (iv) carrying out Training activities to use information and communication technologies (ICTs) to collect and understand budgetary data; (v) creating an online social accountability platform to collect citizen feedback on the budget process and service delivery, and marketing such platform to the public. (ii) Participatory Budget Monitoring: Promote CSO and citizen engagement in monitoring budget allocations and funded services, by: (i) conducting participatory budget monitoring exercises in targeted districts; (ii) deploying social audit tools (e.g., community score cards) to assess the quality and delivery of health and education services; and (iii) designing and implementing a communication strategy to disseminate findings, with the aim of ensuring corrective actions. (iii) Policy Advocacy: Support efforts to influence Ghana’s budget planning processes at the district and national levels, by: (i) developing annual “citizen budgets� in health and education sector, including consolidation and dissemination; (ii) supporting activities of CSOs to influence budget allocations; (iii) organizing multi-stakeholder dialogues to act on findings on the budget planning process. (iv) Strengthening Budget Monitoring: Support to encourage improvements in monitoring and evaluation (M&E) public budgets, by: (i) holding multi-stakeholder dialogues with the selected public entities to share evidence-based information to complement their M&E systems; (ii) establishing a Project steering committee represented by the Member Country’s selected ministries to promote ownership and collaboration during Project implementation; (iii) holding sessions of such committee to discuss Project progress including integration of collected data into existing management information systems (MIS) and M&E systems of selected public entities. (v) Leveraging Media Support: Provide technical assistance to engage media outlets to help achieve Project objectives, by: (i) organizing media discussions on the executive budget proposals for health and education sector; and (ii) engaging with print, radio, and television outlets to disseminate information and findings. Component 3: Project Management and Knowledge & Learning 18. The objective of this component was to strengthen SEND-Ghana’s capacity to manage the project and ensure that mechanisms for learning and sharing are developed throughout the project, and that relevant processes and methodologies are captured, and tacit knowledge codified. The objective on the latter was to capture knowledge that will support both the scale-up of the project in other sectors and stimulate similar social accountability practices (and practitioners) in Ghana and around the world. Page 10 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) II. OUTCOME Assessment of Achievement of Each Objective/Outcome 19. Relevance of the Objectives. The PDO was to improve access and quality of services in priority programs in the health and education sectors in 30 districts in Ghana by strengthening accountability and transparency in the budget process by 2018, and they remained relevant throughout the project implementation. The PDO are aligned with Pillar 2 of the Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (2014-2017) that placed an emphasis on transparent and accountable governance. The objectives were consistent with the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Ghana 2013- 2016 and directly contributed to the implementation of the CPS’s Pillar 1, which aimed to improve economic institutions through the strengthening of PFM processes and local government capacity. Increased citizen participation in the budget process and service monitoring provided the MoF and relevant line Ministries (Education and Health) with a stronger oversight capacity that complemented and strengthened their existing planning, monitoring and evaluation processes. 20. Relevance of the Design and Implementation. The proposed design aligned with the Government’s stated objective to promote transparency. The Project design also complemented the World Bank support to stimulate demand for accountable local governance and service delivery through the reinforcement of citizen engagement mechanisms and by raising awareness of local and national budget processes (Local Government Capacity Support Project - P122692), and the support planned for enhancing education and health service provision through the Ghana Partnership for Education (P129381). The design and implementation of the project is aligned to the National Decentralization Action Plan (NDAP), to accelerate the decentralization process by directly contributing to improving public expenditure and financial systems at the local level, strengthening social accountability mechanisms, and opening spaces for public participation and citizen feedback towards better delivery of basic services in poor districts in Ghana. 21. A detailed analysis of the achievement of the four dimensions of the PDO are as follows: (i) Improved access in priority programs in the education sector in 30 districts in Ghana Throughout the project local governments made commitments to improve on education and health services in their localities; The Net Enrollment rate increased from 49.76 percent in 2013 to 53.06 percent in 2018. Over the project period, 61.5 percent (24 out of 39) citizens’ priorities (comprising 11 out of 19 inputs on education, 11 out of 17 inputs on health and 2 out of 3 inputs on economic growth) submitted to influence the budget, reflected in the enacted budgeted exceeding the expected target of 7 by end of the project. Half of the reflected inputs are being implemented by government. (ii). Improving quality of services in priority programs in the education sector in 30 districts. It was also noted that the pass rate of students in English, Mathematics and Science during their Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) between 2013 and 2018. Page 11 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) (iii). Improved access in priority programs in the health sector in 30 districts in Ghana The 2018 Annual Report by the Ghana Health Service indicate an improved access to health services through the implementation of the community health planning and services (CHIPS) policy. This was a result of the dissemination of the national CHPS policy in all the regions with an accompanying implementation guide to ensure more uniformity in the CHPS rollout. The number of functional CHPS zones increased by 11%, from 3,951 in 2015 to 4,400 in 2016. As a result more people had access to primary health facilities. (iv). Improved quality of services in priority programs in the health sector in 30 districts . Data collected by the Ministry of Health was not available to assess this outcome. Other unintended outcomes are assessed as follows: a. Citizens/civil society representatives who participated in local budget planning process in target districts also increased, from 2 percent in 2015 to 41 percent in 2018. The project baseline indicates that citizens were unaware of the budget process and were not informed or invited to participate. b. Strengthening transparency in the budget process by 2018. Overall, budget awareness of PME members and their capacity for budget analysis increased by 31.3 percentage points. From the baseline of 40.7 percent awareness improved to 72 percent by the end of the project. Approximately 80 percent DCMC members are aware of the budget process, understand what it entails and know when and how to participate to influence it. The capacity of DCMC members for budget analysis was also enhanced. It was noted that 32 percent of these members can now perform basic budget analysis. c. The awareness of PM&E members of allocation and expenditure priorities in the enacted budget increased from approximately 2percent at baseline to 89.4 percent at project closure. Page 12 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) Overall Outcome Rating 22. The ICR rates the overall outcome as Moderately Satisfactory based on the assessment noted earlier that the PDO was satisfactory. In addition, the relevance of the objectives, the design and implementation of the project are also rated as satisfactory. Other Outcomes and Impacts SEND GHANA developed a manual to promote social accountability. The manual is being used by CSOs and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to train local government staff. In addition, two notes were prepared and submitted for publication on the GPSA Knowledge Portal. SEND shared experiences and learned lessons as part of effort to get civil society groups in the country to influence budget data availability in Ghana when it joined the government team to the International Aid Transparency Initiative Conference in Ottawa, Canada in from May 30, 2015 to June 3, 2015. The experience with the project has made the Ministry of Finance to recognize and appointed SEND Ghana for two consecutive years to chair CSOs in the country for the collation of CSO inputs into the national budget. III. KEY FACTORS THAT AFFECTED IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTCOME 23. Government commitment was high. Even though the proposal was prepared by a CSO and submitted to the Bank, the Government supported the proposal and nominated a senior officer from the Ministry of Finance to chair the Steering Committee. Government recognizing the importance of social accountability requested the grantee to serve as a rallying point for citizen’s input into the national budget. 24. Client ownership of the project was high. The proposal for the project was prepared and submitted to the Bank by SEND Ghana. Throughout implementation of the project, the client demonstrated ownership of the project 25. The grantee had a dedicated project staff. SEND Ghana assigned dedicated staff to manage the project. A full-time project coordinator was coordinating and handling all issues pertaining to the project. In addition, a financial management specialist was responsible for the financial management of the project from inception to end. Officers in charge of M&E and procurement were also assigned to the project. 26. It took almost three years of the project time to get the Ministry of Health to formalize its partnership with send Ghana through a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The delay was due to bureaucracy. As a result, the roles and responsibilities as partners and expected collaboration with the ministry was not defined early enough. This impacted their commitment to be on the project steering committee. Page 13 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) IV. BANK PERFORMANCE, COMPLIANCE ISSUES, AND RISK TO DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME Bank Performance In Ensuring Quality of Entry 27. Bank performance is rated satisfactory. This is because of the following reasons: (i) design was simple, (ii) the entire preparation till appraisal was done with full participation of SEND Ghana (the grantee) and was based on a rigorous competitive selection process of the proposal of the grantee, (iii) the task team that supported the project implementation comprised of the appropriate skill mix from the Washington, DC Office and the Ghana Country Office, (iv) even though the project involved a grant to a CSO, the Bank team liaised with the Ministry of Finance to ensure that Government was fully involved in the preparation and agreed to chair the steering committee of the project. Finally, the GPSA Secretariat of the World Bank provided a quality enhancement review of the project. Quality of Supervision 28. With the task team leader (TTL) based in the field to be close to the client, implementation support was almost monthly and included extended focus on fiduciary aspects of project management. 29. The average period of response to requests for no-objections and review of terms of references was five working days. The technical team comprised of varied skill mix, including governance and social accountability, and jointly with the fiduciary team provided implementation support to the project management team with a focus on resolving issues and achieving the expected developmental outcomes. 30. A Mid-Term Review (MTR) was conducted in November 2016. The MTR was used to assessed progress in the attainment of the development objectives of the project. It assessed the risks, identified the need for changes to the project indicators and agreed on the revised set of indicators. 31. Through the various annual global fora, webinars and knowledge platform, the Bank built the capacity of staff of SEND on social accountability practices to enhance the management of the project. 32. However, budget for the supervision of the project was not provided during the entire implementation period. As a result, implementation support was limited only to meetings in Accra with the project team. When the TTL relocated outside the Ghana Country Office, implementation support was undertaken through video and telephone conferences. The TTL also used other missions to Ghana to meet with the project staff to provide implementation support. Even though the lack of supervision budget was noted in various implementation support reports (ISRs), the issue was not resolved till the project closed. Quality of supervision is therefore rated as moderately satisfactory. Page 14 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) Justification of Rating for Overall Bank Performance 33. The overall Bank performance is rated moderately satisfactory. This is because the quality at entry is rated as satisfactory whilst the rating for supervision is moderately satisfactory. Project Implementing Entity (SEND GHANA) Performance 34. The performance of the Project Implementation Unit is rated satisfactory. The project had dedicated project coordinator, financial management specialist and officers responsible for procurement and M&E. Work plans, which were used to guide project implementation. were prepared annually. Annual procurement plans were also prepared and revised quarterly to reflect changes in the work plans. As agreed upon in the Development Grant Agreement, project management reports were prepared annually that indicated progress and outstanding issues. Procurement management was solid, as all procurements that were undertaken followed the procurement procedures outlined in the project documents. With regards to financial management, adequate financial records were maintained, interim financial unaudited reports were prepared and submitted on quarterly basis. Annual external audits were commissioned on time and the reports delivered to the Bank within the stipulated six months after the preceding financial year. V. LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS 35. Aligning the project design with core Government priorities. When project components reflect the highest priorities of a Government, implementation is easier and faster. 36. Sector specific peer learning exchanges are useful. It is a platform to resolve misconceptions and strengthen partnerships. It facilitates the sharing of information and plans with the potential to complement and reinforce the work of the partners involved for mutually development benefits. The learning exchanges could afford more staff of MDAs and MMDAs broaden their involvement in CSO work beyond liaison persons. The institutionalization of such learning exchanges between government and CSOs is therefore key in promoting social accountability and should be embraced by key government sectors. 37. Sensitizing the citizen and CSOs on budgetary processes. The budget tracking and analysis training provides opportunities for more citizens and institutions-both government and CSOs to increase their understanding of budget work and its usefulness in getting government to enforce the bottom-up approach to decision making and development. Budget tracking skills has the potential of improving citizens’ interest and participation in the governance of their districts. Once the skill is used, it will make local government more responsive to the needs of citizens and in so doing contribute positively to the performance of local government in involving citizens in decision making. Page 15 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) 38. Government commitment and citizens’ support. Mainstreaming ICT in social accountability practice cannot be possible without the commitment of government and citizen’s realization of its importance. Going forward, in-depth interaction with MDAs and MMDAs on ICT for social accountability must be initiated to bring government, CSOs and citizens on the same level of understanding of its significance and the benefits thereof for development. 39. Use of technology to foster citizen participation. To sustain citizens’ involvement in the budget process without using regional fora or other expensive strategies, less costly means will be utilized. PME members and communities will be reminded of the local and national budget calendar using phone calls, WhatsApp and text messages and encouraged to submit their priorities using memos/letters and take advantage of town hall and community meetings to make their voices heard. . Page 16 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) ANNEX 1. RESULTS FRAMEWORK AND KEY OUTPUTS A. RESULTS INDICATORS A.1 PDO Indicators Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Percent of PME network Percentage 40.70 70.00 70.00 72.00 members noting increased budget awareness and capacity 15-Dec-2014 30-Sep-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 for analysis by end of project Comments (achievements against targets): Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Percent increase of Percentage 2.00 30.00 30.00 41.00 citizens/civil society representatives who 31-Dec-2014 30-Sep-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 participated in local budget Page 17 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) planning process in target districts Comments (achievements against targets): Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Percent of PME Network Percentage 2.00 30.00 85.00 89.40 members in target districts aware of allocation and 31-Dec-2014 30-Sep-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 expenditure priorities in the enacted budget in health and educational sector for national and local level Comments (achievements against targets): Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Percent of PME Network Percentage 49.50 30.00 85.00 74.40 members in target districts noting improvement in service 31-Dec-2014 30-Sep-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 delivery and quality of Page 18 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) infrastructure in education and health sector created by local government Comments (achievements against targets): Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Number of citizen priorities Number 0.00 6.00 7.00 24.00 reflected in the enacted budget of the health and educational 31-Dec-2014 30-Sep-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 sector Comments (achievements against targets): A.2 Intermediate Results Indicators Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Number of Project Number 0.00 2.00 2.00 24.00 Inception/baseline reports prepared 31-Oct-2014 30-Sep-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 Page 19 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) Comments (achievements against targets): Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Number of meetings held for Number 0.00 36.00 36.00 36.00 project preparation, implementation and evaluation 31-Oct-2014 30-Sep-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 Comments (achievements against targets): Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Number of Partnership Number 0.00 33.00 33.00 35.00 arrangements and MOUs signed with relevant 31-Oct-2014 30-Sep-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 Government Agencies Comments (achievements against targets): Page 20 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Number of capacity building Number 0.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 programs designed and implemented 31-Oct-2014 30-Sep-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 Comments (achievements against targets): Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Number of Trainers/SEND Number 0.00 20.00 40.00 39.00 Ghana staff trained 31-Oct-2014 30-Sep-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 Comments (achievements against targets): Even though the number of Trainers/SEND staff trained is 75, this indicator measured only people who got trainings that lasted more than one week. Indicator Name Unit of Baseline Original Target Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Page 21 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) Measure Target Completion Number of members of PME Number 0.00 350.00 350.00 323.00 Network trained 29-Jun-2018 30-Sep-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 Comments (achievements against targets): Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Number of budget literacy Number 0.00 152.00 152.00 156.00 campaign organized and education session 31-Oct-2014 30-Sep-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 Comments (achievements against targets): Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Number of participatory Number 0.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 budget monitoring exercises conducted 31-Oct-2014 31-Oct-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 Page 22 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) Comments (achievements against targets): Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Number of regional citizen Number 0.00 30.00 16.00 16.00 budgets prepared 31-Oct-2014 31-Oct-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 Comments (achievements against targets): Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Number of consolidated Number 0.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 “citizen budgets’ used to influence district and national 31-Oct-2014 31-Oct-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 budgets to reflect citizens’ priorities in health and education sectors Comments (achievements against targets): Page 23 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Number of new media reports Amount(USD) 0.00 20.00 20.00 38.00 on national budget linking service delivery outcomes to 31-Oct-2014 31-Oct-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 budget allocations and using data from “citizen budget� published by PME Network Comments (achievements against targets): Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Number of mechanisms Number 0.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 developed for learning and sharing (manuals, toolkits, case 31-Oct-2014 31-Oct-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 studies, notes) in the GPSA Knowledge portal Comments (achievements against targets): Page 24 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Number of staff peer learning Amount(USD) 0.00 6.00 6.00 13.00 exchanges between SEND’s project team and the social 31-Oct-2014 31-Oct-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 accountability units of the 3 identified ministries and also with staff of the participating MMDAs Comments (achievements against targets): Unit of Formally Revised Actual Achieved at Indicator Name Baseline Original Target Measure Target Completion Number of advisory Amount(USD) 0.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 support/knowledge exchanges performed with other GPSA 31-Oct-2014 31-Oct-2014 28-Feb-2017 31-Jan-2019 grantees and global partners (Peer assists, webinars, trainings, study visits) Comments (achievements against targets): Page 25 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) Page 26 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) B. ORGANIZATION OF THE ASSESSMENT OF THE PDO Objective/Outcome 1 - Improved access to services in priority programs in the education sector in 30 districts 1. Percentage increase of PME Network members in target districts Outcome Indicators noting improvement in service delivery and quality of infrastructure in education and health sector created by local government. Intermediate Results Indicators Number of Project Inception/baseline reports prepared Over the project period, 61.5 percent (24 out of 39) of citizens priorities comprising 11 out of 19 inputs on education, 11 out of 17 inputs on health and 2 out of 3 inputs on economic growth Key Outputs by Component submitted to influence the budget, reflected in the enacted (linked to the achievement of the Objective/Outcome 1) budgeted exceeding the expected target of 7 by end of the project. Half of the reflected inputs are being implemented by government. Objective/Outcome 2 - Improved quality of services in priority programs in the education sector in 30 districts 1. Percentage increase of PME Network members in target districts noting improvement in service delivery and quality of infrastructure in education and health sector created by local government. Outcome Indicators 2. Increase in the number of citizen priorities getting reflected in the enacted budget of the health and educational sector (local and national). Page 27 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) 3. Percentage increase of citizens/civil society representatives that participated in local budget planning process in target districts. 1. Number of Project Inception/baseline reports prepared Number of partnership arrangements and MOUs signed with relevant Government Agencies 2. Number of capacity building programs designed and implemented 3.Number of Trainers/SEND Ghana staff trained 4. Number of members of PME Network trained 5. Number of budget literacy campaign and education sessions Intermediate Results Indicators organized 6. Number of participatory budget monitoring exercises conducted 7 Number of consolidated citizen budgets used to influence district and national budgets to reflect citizen’s priorities in health and education 1. A manual on social accountability has been produced which is being used by CSOs and the Ministry of Local Government 2. Citizens/civil society representatives who participated in Key Outputs by Component local budget planning process in target districts also (linked to the achievement of the Objective/Outcome 2) increased from (2%) in 2015 to 41% in 2018. The project baseline indicate that citizens were unaware of the budget process and were not informed or invited to participate. Objective/Outcome 3 – Improved access to services in priority programs in the health sector in 30 districts Page 28 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) 1. Percent of PME Network members in target districts aware of allocation and expenditure priorities in the enacted budget in health and educational sector for national and local level. Outcome Indicators PME network and District Citizens Monitoring Committee (DCMC) members noting increased budget awareness and capacity for analysis by end of project. 1. Number of regional citizen budget prepared Number of new media reports on national budget linking service delivery outcomes to budget allocations and using data from “citizen budget� published by PME Network 2. Number of mechanisms developed for learning and sharing (manuals, toolkits, case studies, notes) in the GPSA Knowledge portal Intermediate Results Indicators 3. Number of staff peer learning exchanges between SEND’s project team and the social accountability units of the 3 identified ministries and with staff of the participating MMDAs 4. 4. Number of advisory support/knowledge exchanges performed with other GPSA grantees and global partners (Peer assists, webinars, trainings, study visits) 1. The awareness of PM&E members of allocation and expenditure priorities in the enacted budget increased from approximately 2% at baseline to 89.4%. Key Outputs by Component (linked to the achievement of the Objective/Outcome 3) 2. The awareness of PM&E members of allocation and expenditure priorities in the enacted budget increased from approximately 2% at baseline to 89.4%. Page 29 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) Objective/Outcome 4: Improved quality of services in priority programs in the health sector in 30 districts 1. Percentage increase of PME Network members in target districts noting improvement in service delivery and quality of infrastructure in education and health sector created by local government. 2. Increase in the number of citizen priorities getting reflected in the Outcome Indicators enacted budget of the health and educational sector (local and national). 3. Percentage increase of citizens/civil society representatives that participated in local budget planning process in target districts. 1. Number of partnership arrangements and MOUs signed with relevant Government Agencies 2. Number of capacity building programs designed and implemented 3.Number of Trainers/SEND Ghana staff trained 4. Number of members of PME Network trained 5. Number of budget literacy campaign and education sessions Intermediate Results Indicators organized 6. Number of participatory budget monitoring exercises conducted 7 Number of consolidated citizen budgets used to influence district and national budgets to reflect citizen’s priorities in health and education Page 30 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) . . ANNEX 2. PROJECT COST BY COMPONENT Project Component Actual at % of Actual at % of Approval Cost Project Cost US$ Closing US$ 1. Creating an enabling environment for 321,647.00 37.8 311, 000.00 37.5 CSOs/Government constructive engagement for Social Accountability in Ghana 2. Where does the money go? - Integrating 365,433.00 43.0 363,000.00 43.8 budget monitoring with service delivery outcomes and (3) 3. Knowledge & Learning and Project 162,920.00 19.2 155,000.00 18.7 Management. Total Original Cost 850,000.00 830,000.00 There is a balance of US$20,000 in the Designated Account. The client has been asked through a letter to refund the untilised amount to the Bank. ANNEX 3. RECIPIENT, CO-FINANCIER AND OTHER PARTNER/STAKEHOLDER COMMENTS Page 31 of 32 The World Bank Making the Budget Work for Ghana (P150856) Page 32 of 32