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In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,

“accounting standards “mean authoritative statements adopted by the Controller and Accountant-General, indicating how particular types of transactions and other events are to be reflected in the accounts and financial statements of a covered entity;

“appropriation” means an authorization made under an Appropriation Act permitting withdrawal out of the Consolidated Fund or any other public fund;

“Appropriation Act” means an Act passed in accordance with article 179 of the Constitution, which authorizes withdrawal out of the Consolidated Fund or any other public funds for a financial year;

“approved financial institution” means an establishment licensed to deal in financial transactions;

“arrears” means any payment which has not been made on its due date;

“Auditor-General” means the person appointed as Auditor-General under article 187 of the Constitution;

“autonomous agency” means a self-governing body established by the Government that is responsible for making binding decisions and developing its strategic plans without interference or with limited interference from the Government;

“baseline parameters” means an agreed description of the attributes of a product, within a specific period where the agreed description serves as a basis for defining change to the product;

“borrowing” means

(a) raising funds by concluding loan agreements,

(b) obtaining advances by overdrafts, and

(c) issuing debt securities;

“borrowing instrument” includes a loan agreement and an agreement to use overdraft facilities or securities;

“budget” means the Government plan of revenue and expenditure for a financial year;

 “budgeting” means the process by which Government sets levels to efficiently collect revenue and allocate the spending of resources among all sectors to meet national objectives;

“cash management bill” means a debt security of the Government with a tenor of seven to twenty one days;

“capital expenditure” means any expenditure for the creation or acquisition of a fixed asset, inventory or other valuable physical stock which is not expended within the year;

“central government” means units of government that exercise authority over the economy of the country;

“Chief Director” means the Chief Director of the Ministry;

“commitment” in reference to a covered entity ,means a contract or other binding arrangement which creates a future expense or liability;

“Consolidated Fund” means the Consolidated Fund established under article 176 of the Constitution;

“consolidated public account” means the process of eliminating transactions between different ministries, agencies or units of government and combining in a common set of categories the sum of the external transactions of the ministries, agencies or units to and from the rest of the economy;

“Controller and Accountant-General” means the person appointed under section 6 or an officer acting on the authority of the Controller and Accountant- General;

“covered entities” means

(a) the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary;

(b) constitutional bodies;

(c) Ministries, Departments Agencies and local

government authorities;

(d) the public service;

(e) autonomous agencies; and

(f) statutory bodies;

“debt” includes a financial liability created by

(a) borrowing,

(b) credits accepted under supplier’s credit agreements,

(c) the issuance of debt securities, and

(d) assumption of the payment obligations under a

guaranteed loan;

“debt management operations” include

(a) preparation of medium-term debt management strategies to achieve the debt management objectives,

(b) preparation of annual borrowing and recovery plans based on the determined strategy;

(c) borrowings and other market transactions to achieve the strategic goals; and

(d) debt data recording and other debt administration activities, and preparation of reports and statistical bulletins on debt and debt management;

“debt management strategy” means a strategic plan designed to make operational the high-level objectives for debt management, taking into account the cost and risk associated with the public debt portfolio, which specifies the borrowing requirements of government and how the borrowing requirement of government is financed over a number of years;

“debt market” means an environment in which the issuance and trading of debt securities occur;

“debt portfolio” means a combination of debt instruments, often classified in accordance with the share of particular currencies, and the types and rates of interest held by Government;

“debt securities” mean

(a) legal documents as evidence of debt issued by the

Government in electronic format or hard copy to a

named person;

(b) negotiable or non-negotiable bearer instruments;

(c) promissory notes, IOU undertakings and similar financial instruments;

“economic classification” means the type of expenditure by in respect of compensation, goods and services and capital expenditure;

 “expenditure” means a non-repayable and a non-repaying payment by Government, whether requited or unrequited and whether for current or capital purposes;

“financial assets” means money at hand, or money that is easily accessible, in the form of cash deposit, cheque, loan, account receivable, and marketable securities such as deposits, loans, bonds, financial derivatives, and accounts receivable;

“finance lease “ means an arrangement between two parties by which the lessor undertakes to lease to the lessee for the lessee’s use only and against payment of mutually agreed lease rentals over a specified non-cancellable period,

(a) the lessor’s own already acquired assets, or

(b) an asset that the lessor agrees to acquire from a third party, known as the supplier, chosen and specified by the lessee so that the lessor retains full title to the asset during the period of the lease, and under which, subject to agreement by the lessor, the lessee may exercise an option to purchase the asset outright after the period of the lease at a price agreed on by the parties,

“financial management system” means the methodology and software that the Government uses to oversee and govern its income, expenses and assets for purposes of optimizing financial management, reporting and sustainability;

“financial year” means a period of twelve months commencing on the1st day of January and ending on the 31st day of December;

“financing estimates” means a list of all sources of funds by which the budget deficit will be financed;

“financial swap” means an agreement in which two parties exchange cash flows of one party’s financial instruments for those of the other party’s financial instrument;

“fiscal agent” an institution or organization such as a bank or financial institution that acts on behalf of government performing various financial duties including the redemption of bonds, coupons, handling tax issues, replacement of lost or damaged securities and other finance related tasks;

 “fiscal policy” means the means by which Government policies are implemented with respect to revenue, expenditure and debt management;

“fiscal policy document” means an outline of the revenue, expenditure, financing and debt management decisions of Government that influences the economy;

“fiscal policy objective” means the targets that Government seeks to achieve on the implementation of a fiscal policy;

“fiscal risk” means a risk arising from an unforeseen macroeconomic scenario such as external shock, natural disaster, fluctuation in the value of Government assets, commodities or guarantees and other contingent liabilities;

“fiscal risk statement” means a statement that the Government issues periodically on the nature of fiscal risk over the medium term or any other specific period;

“fixed asset” means a long term resource controlled by a covered entity, public corporation or state owned enterprise as a result of past events and from which future economic benefits are expected to flow to the entity;

“forecast fiscal balance” means a statement issued by the Government in respect of the expected amount of money which Government has accrued from tax revenue and the proceeds of assets sold minus any Government spending over a fiscal year or any other specific period;

“foreign market” means the financial market that represents the mechanism for issuing and trading securities of entities outside the country;

“Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System” means the electronic platform used by the Government to

(a) manage commitments made against appropriation,

(b) process payment claims,

(c) record revenue and expenditure transactions, and

(d) produce monthly, quarterly and annual financial reports;

 “Government” means any authority by which the executive authority of the Republic is exercised;

“Government cash management” means the strategy and associated process adopted by Government for purposes of managing cost effectively in respect of the short term cash flows and short term cash balances of government;

“Government debt” means a financial claim on the Government that requires payment by the Government of the principal sum or the principal and interest to a creditor;

“Government property” means all movable and non-movable assets or chattels owned by Government including land, buildings, plant, vehicles, machinery and equipment;

“guarantee” means an explicit undertaking by the issuer to guarantee fulfillment of a financial obligation for which the guarantee is issued;

“internally generated funds” means revenue generated from the activities of a covered entity from its operations other than taxes collected by the Ghana Revenue Authority;

“inventories” mean

(i) assets in the form of materials or supplies to be consumed in the production process;

(ii) assets in the form of materials or supplies to be consumed or distributed in the rendering of services; and

(iii) assets held for sale or distribution in the ordinary course of operations;

“investment” means an expenditure on the creation or acquisition of fixed assets, inventories, valuable physical stocks or securities;

“liability” includes

(a) a liability measured in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice, or

(b) a liability that is contingent on an uncertain future event depending on the circumstances of each case;

“liquidity buffer” means funds set aside by Government to take care of shortfalls in Government financing in the short term;

“local government authority” means a Metropolitan, Municipal, or District Assembly as defined under the Local Government Act,1993 (Act 462);

 “macro fiscal risk” has the meaning assigned to fiscal risk;

“market transaction” means an order placed by an insider, after the appropriate documentation has been filed, to buy or sell restricted securities openly on an exchange market;

“medium-term” means a period of not less than three years but not more than five years;

“Medium-Term Expenditure Framework” means an annual, rolling three-year expenditure planning that sets out the medium term expenditure priorities and hard budget constraints against which sector plans may be developed and refined to match available resources;

“Medium-Term Fiscal Framework” means an annual rolling three year period over which the Government plans fiscal policy and likely budget parameters to macroeconomic performance;

“Medium Term National Development Plan” means a set of comprehensive development programmes, activities and projects initiated by the Government through covered entities to support and give direction to Government efforts;

“Minister” means the Minister responsible for Finance;

“Ministry” means the Ministry responsible for Finance;

“monetary grants” means non-repayable funds received by a covered entity from an individual, body or institution for use by the covered entity;

“monetary policy objective” means

(i) exchange rate and interest rate management that has no direct relation to fiscal policy but may be affected by fiscal policy operations; and

(ii) goals that the credit control measures adopted by the Bank of Ghana seek to achieve;

“multi-year ceilings” means the explicit commitment of Government to limit expenditure within the established maximum level of expenditure for a period of more than twelve months;

“multi-year contract” means a contract for the purchase of goods, works, supplies or services for a period of more than one program year;

 “multi-year expenditure commitment” means a contract, transaction, or agreement that binds the Government to a financial commitment for more than one financial year or which results in a contingent liability, except where the financial commitment or contingent liability is authorized by Parliament;

“other entities” means a private institution, an organization or a company that is of interest to Government in respect of achievement of its policies;

“petroleum funds” means the Petroleum Holding Fund, the Ghana Stabilization Fund, the Ghana Heritage Fund and subsequently, the Ghana Petroleum Wealth Fund;

“petroleum revenue” includes

(a) royalties in cash or in equivalent barrels of oil or equivalent units of gas, payable by a licensed producer, including the national oil company or a company under a Production Sharing Agreement or other agreement,

(b) corporate income taxes payable by licensed upstream and mainstream operators,

(c) participating interest,

(d) additional oil entitlements,

(e) dividends from the national oil company for Government’s equity interest,

(f) the investment income derived from accumulated

petroleum funds,

(g) surface rentals paid by licensed producers, or

(h) any other revenue determined by the Minister to constitute petroleum revenue, derived from upstream and midstream petroleum operations;

“prepayment” means the settlement of a debt or installment payment before its official due date;

“Principal Account Holder” means the sector Minister or the political head of a covered entity;

“Principal Spending Officer” in relation to a covered entity, means the Chief Director, Chief Executive or the most senior administrative head responsible for producing outputs;

 “property” means

(a) a book, paper, an account or a document that is used, received or in the possession of a person employed to collect or manage the revenue of Government;

or

(b) moneys or valuable securities of Government that is in the possession of a person in the course of employment of that person;

“public accounting record” means a record that is classified as an account including manual and electronic record, a book, ledger, ledger sheet, ledger card, or machine tabulation and voucher, schedule, returns, bank statement or any other statement;

“public accounts” mean the financial statements, notes and reports pertaining to money received into, held in, and paid from public funds;

“public corporation” means a body corporate established under an Act of Parliament in accordance with article 192 of the Constitution;

“public finances” means the income and expenditures of a public sector organization;

“public financial management system” means legal and administrative procedures established to permit covered entities to conduct activities in a manner that ensures correct usage of public funds to meet defined standards of probity, regularity, efficiency and effectiveness;

“public funds” means the Consolidated Fund, the Contingency Fund and any other fund established by or under an Act of Parliament;

“public money” includes tax revenue, non-tax revenue, grants and other receipts;

“public office” includes an office the emoluments attached to which are paid directly from the Consolidated Fund or directly out of moneys provided by Parliament and an office in a public corporation established entirely out of public funds or moneys provided by Parliament;

 “public officer” includes the holder of a public office and a person appointed to act in that office;

“Public Procurement Authority” means the Public Procurement Authority established under the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663);

“public resources” mean public revenue including revenue acquired through donation, bequest, borrowing, movable and fixed asset, deposit, receivables and rights;

“public service” includes service in any civil office of Government, the emoluments attached to which are paid directly from the Consolidated Fund or directly out of moneys provided by Parliament and service with a public corporation;

“public trust” means moneys raised or received in trust for or on behalf of the Government;

“resources” means the amount of money, material, staff, aid, financial assistance, technical assistance and other assets available to an entity to enable it carry out its functions;

“resource envelope” means the overall financial resources available to Government for the fiscal year;

“sector Minister” means the Minister with oversight responsibility for the public corporation or state-owned enterprise concerned;

“short-term” means a period of not more than three years;

“state-owned enterprise” means an entity whether incorporated or not under the Companies Act, 1963 (Act 179) whose shares are wholly or partially held or controlled by Government;

“statutory expenditure” means an expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund by the Constitution or by an Act of Parliament otherwise than expenditure of moneys appropriated or granted by an Appropriation Act or a Supplementary Appropriation Act;

“spending plan” means a strategy document that contains the cash flow of a covered entity of Government;

“subvention” means the appropriation of funds to a covered entity for onward transfer to an entity which is not a covered entity;

 “Supplementary Appropriation Act” means an Act passed in accordance with article 179 of the Constitution the purpose of which is to supplement an appropriation granted under an Appropriation Act;

“supplier’s credit agreement” means a credit arrangement that includes payment of interest between a purchaser and a supplier of any goods, works or services that gives the purchaser the right to fully pay for the goods, works or services at a future date extending beyond one year from the date the goods, works or services were supplied;

“Treasury Single Account” means a consolidated bank account system where all deposit and payments transactions are processed for central government;

“unexpended” means a budgetary appropriation based on which commitment has been made and expenditure incurred but not yet paid by the end of the financial year;

“virement” means the reallocation of funds within the budget from one budget line to another budget line; and

“warrant” means the authority to commit government.