Akufo-Addo’s decision to set up M&E Secretariat was an excellent one: Andrew Asibey

Andrew Osei Asibey, a specialist in monitoring and evaluation (M&), has said the decision by President Akufo-Addo to set up the department previously known as the Ministry of Monitoring and Evaluation was an excellent one.

Asibey, who has spent many decades working with the World Bank, said the president should be commended “for having that foresight to create the Monitoring and Evaluation Secretariat. He [the president] had the right vision in creating the secretariat. 

“It is an excellent decision,” he added.

Asibey argued, “Governments in most progressive democratic countries are interested in finding out the impact of the policies, programmes and projects [designed] for the people,” hence the need for any forward-looking country to have an effective monitoring and evaluation unit. 

He added that if Ghana wants to develop rapidly, then the country must take monitoring and evaluation of the government’s policies and projects very seriously. 

“Any country that ignores the use of data or evidence in making decisions would be making a mistake … we need to build for the future,” he added.

“Unfortunate move”

Asibey said it is unfortunate that Parliament has cancelled a GHC2.2 million budgetary allocation to the Monitoring and Evaluation Secretariat.

He said the move is incomprehensible. It is never a “needless [venture] to spend money to carry out assessments on the impact of government flagship programmes”, the M&E expert said.

“Expensive venture”

The senior technical advisor added: “Monitoring and evaluation is an expensive endeavour but the government doesn’t have the money. So, fortunately, the World Bank is funding a public sector reform project through the Public Sector Secretariat.

“So, for the last three years, we’ve been working under the programme. We have a sub-component on strengthening M&E capacity across the government and that is where we get our funding from.

“The GHC2.2 million allocation was meant for salaries of civil servants …”

Members of Parliament say they will reject the sum, allocated in 2023 Budget, to cover the M&E Secretariat’s operational expenses.

“The government should be able to do assessments of its policies and that’s the rationale for having departments within government structures,” Asibey said.

“It should be looked at from the implementing entities – for instance, the … MMDAs [metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies] and at the strategic level [where] the executive … should have a tool to be able to assess how well its policies, programmes and projects are being [executed], independent of the implementing entities.

Asibey said, “People talk about the supply side – oh we have policy, planning, monitoring and evaluation [PPME] units in the ministries and, therefore, if you have a similar structure in the executive it’s frivolous. It is not, because – let’s take this government. It has come out with a number of initiatives: 1D1F, Planting for Food and Jobs, Free SHS strengthening the Ambulance Service … 

“The executive [arm of government] should be able to have the capacity to assess progress of implementation and, in the medium term, how these programmes and projects are impacting on the livelihoods and lives of the citizens.

“So that is how you place it. It’s not just saying we have MMDAs and therefore we don’t need evaluation [M&E].” 

He added, “If you look at the structure, there is a need for some form of assessment at any level of government.”

Risks

He said the removal of the GHC2.2 million budgetary allocation to the Monitoring and Evaluation Secretariat could undermine the government’s efforts to institutionalise monitoring and evaluation in the public sector. 

The government also risks losing US$3.5 million allocated to the Public Sector Reform for Results Project (PSRRP).  

The PSRRP is being funded through a World Bank financing arrangement. The GHC2.2 million cancelled by Parliament was meant to cover the goods and services as well as the salaries of civil servants.  

As part of the financing arrangement, the World Bank is paying for the consultancy fees of three highly qualified Ghanaians who are assisting the secretariat to carry out rapid assessments of selected government flagship programmes.

M&E Secretariat

The Monitoring and Evaluation Secretariat is the agency established by the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo to address these challenges.

Specifically, the secretariat’s mandate is to:

• Enhance M&E practice and culture across the public sector. 
• Generate real-time data on the performance of government flagship programmes to promote evidence-based decision-making in governance. 
• Be responsible for the implementation of component three of the Public Sector Reform for Results Project (PSRRP): enhancing monitoring and evaluation across the public sector

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