On Friday 26 January, the Hon. Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Marfo launched the Ghana PPP disclosure portal in Accra. It published information on 20 ongoing PPP projects and the disclosure framework being adopted by the Government of Ghana. This is the first time that this information has been made available to the public.

A Framework for Disclosure in Public-Private Partnership Projects was designed by the World Bank, and reviewed and endorsed by the G20 in 2015. The framework provided a systematic structure for proactively disclosing information on PPPs. In late 2016, Ghana was included in the nations selected for the World Bank's pilot project of drafting and implementing customized national PPP disclosure frameworks, alongside Honduras, Kenya and Nigeria. A detailed PPP disclosure diagnostic exercise was carried out in each country and national PPP disclosure frameworks including standard contractual clauses on disclosure were drafted and agreed upon in each of these countries.

The results of this work are manifest in the newly-inaugurated portal.  Projects can viewed and searched for by procurement stage, industry sector and geographic region. The portal also lists the latest announcements, including tender notices. The National Policy on Public-Private Partnerships is available to interested parties, disclosing the government framework behind the actions and decisions regarding the projects in the portal.

In publishing this information, Ghana is honouring its commitments as a member of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), which it signed onto in 2011. Membership entails commitments to transparency and accountability in governance. At the launch, Mr Osafo-Maafo said two OGP Action Plans had been developed since 2011 and that his office, responsible for public sector reform, intends to develop the third OGP Action Plan and continue to pass relevant legislation to further enhance government transparency to boost the confidence of the private sector, development partners and the general public.

Inadequate transparency and accountability have significantly hindered the execution of  PPP concession agreements and the implementation of PPP projects in Ghana in the past. The launch of the Disclosure Framework in particular demonstrates the Ministry of Finance and World Bank's success in combating these obstacles to infrastructure, and thus national socio-economic, development.

The portal is run by the Public Investment Division (PID) of the Ministry of Finance. The PID was established in 2010. Two of its four units play particularly key roles in the PPP agenda: the Project Finance and Analysis Unit and the PPP Advisory Unit. The former is responsible for gate keeping and upstream investment appraisal. The latter provides technical expertise to support the relevant line Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the development and management of prospective PPP transactions that satisfy the government's public investment priorities.

The portal was designed by the software development team at Aninver. It can be accessed here: http://ppp.mofep.gov.gh/

At the launch ceremony, David Duarte presented the global framework on disclosure on behalf of the World Bank. Errol Graham represented the Country Director for Ghana.