The Ga West Municipal Assembly is in the process of preparing its 2025-2028 Composite budget and has therefore organized a one-day training workshop for its major stake holders to adequately prepare them for the commencement of this very important process.

The workshop which was held on Tuesday, 13^th August 2024 at the Assembly Hall was facilitated by Madam Mary A. A. Acquah, Head of Budget Department at the Ga West Municipal Assembly.

Madam Acquah informed the Heads of Departments and all other stake holders that the Assembly has to account for all its spending. She reiterated that the Assembly spends through its activities and these activities are listed in coding under the chart of accounts.

According to her, Ghana’s chart of accounts provides the basis of financial data which entails the financial base data collection and processing. She further stated that the budgets we prepare is used for fiscal reporting and the preparation of these financial statements.

She referred to the chart of account as the foundation of any accounting in budgeting system, thus the chart of account is the coded form of the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information system (GIFMIS). The GIFMIS is a charter is a charter for public financial management that will help to capture all public finances from different units and all local government one system.

Madam Mary Acquah also explained that the chart of accounts is also used for formulating financial policies for budgeting and further cited some examples of policies formulated by the GWMA budget committee on a day before the workshop.

Speaking on the effective use of the chart of account, she told trainees that items are classified under 3^rd party so there is the need for the correct use of codes for transaction. She said it is wrong to use the refreshment code for hiring of chairs for a programme. Renting of chairs will rightly be put under hiring of furniture and fittings.

She continued the training by taking all stake holders present through how to complete the budget forms.

 On revenue, Ms. Mary A. A. Acquah enlightened the participants that all MMDA’s have the same codes for every revenue source and that the specific codes used in MMDA’s are in the chart of accounts. For instance, printed materials and stationery are 3^rd party codes and all supplies and consultancies are 3^rd party codes as well.

She said to address challenges faced, since 2016, some codes are opened on GIFMIS, for instance when the Municipal Chief Executive Officer receives visitors in-prompt-to, and we have to buy water from table top to serve them, that will fall under 3^rd party codes and the suppliers have not been set on the GIFMIS for us to be able to pay them hence the need to open some codes on GIFMIS. She further stated that these are the reasons why the supplier list is always updated, hence stakeholders can recommend reliable suppliers to management and management could get 2 departmental stores and give them to GIFMIS to update them on the system for the GWMA to have their 3^rd party purchases with ease. The session was ended with a questions and answers segment

Present at the training workshop were the Municipal Coordinating Director, all Heads of Departments, all unit heads, all Zonal Council treasurers, members of the budget committee and two national service personnel at the Assembly.

All participants left the workshop with at least one major knowledge on what goes into budget preparation. They got to understand the whole idea of budget preparation due to how practical the workshop was. All stakeholders with little or no experience were on the same level with the experienced ones at the end of the discussion. Madam Candid K. Pwavra in her closing remarks expressed Management’s expectation of having a well prepared 2025-2028 composite budget. Participants also expressed their appreciation to the organisers and requested that such trainings should be organised at least every other year.

Source: Rachel Sarpong, ISD GWMA.