Ghana Action Plan Review 2023-2027

Ghana’s first four-year action planAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... prioritizes institutionalizing open government through the passage of laws and regulations. Commitments to further open parliamentEnsuring access to legislative information and creating mechanisms for public participation are critical to building an open, trusting relationship with citizens. Technical specifications: Commitments... and combat mis- and disinformation show substantial potential for results. Ghana can continue leveraging its robust open government community by strengthening government-civil society coalitions around priority aims. Reformers can plan for continuity through the December 2024 national electionsImproving transparency in elections and maintaining the independence of electoral commissions is vital for promoting trust in the electoral system, preventing electoral fraud, and upholding the democr... and the opportunity to refresh the action plan midway through the implementation period.

The fifth action plan contains 15 commitments. Twelve address policy areas carried forward and updated from previous action plans. New policy areas include accountability in the health sector, fisheries transparency, and combating mis- and disinformation. Notably, 10 of the 15 commitments are centered on the passage or amendment of laws or regulations.[1] Ghana submitted two commitments to the Open Gov Challenge.[2] CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... 11 to pass the Affirmative Action Bill and commitment 13 to combat mis- and disinformation.

This review focuses on two commitments that have substantial potential for results. Commitment 13 was designed and will be collaboratively implemented by government and civil society. Reformers aim to collectively identify problems and solutions to mis- and disinformation in Ghana, while also protecting freedom of speech. This includes conducting a human rightsAn essential part of open government includes protecting the sacred freedoms and rights of all citizens, including the most vulnerable groups, and holding those who violate human rights accountable. T... assessment to inform future legislative changes. Information integrity was identified as a priority in the lead up to the December 2024 elections.

Commitment 15 seeks to promote parliamentary openness by operationalizing an Open Parliament Steering Committee and Citizens Bureau. These bodies aim to strengthen civil society and parliamentary engagement and oversee open parliament reforms. The commitment builds on recent momentum, evidenced by the creation of an OGP Parliamentary Caucus.[3] This commitment has the potential to significantly boost implementation of the national action plan, as the majority of commitments call for legislative action.

An inclusive and detailed co-creation process resulted in an action plan representing participants’ consensus. Led by the Steering Committee, reformers created platforms both in-person and virtual collection of input and validation of commitments. CSOs and non-state actors leveraged their networks to mobilize participation and enhance awareness of the OGP processes.[4] There is opportunity for Ghana to continue expanding its open government community by bringing in new civil society organizations and branches of government. Ghanaian reformers can consider a national open government strategy, which could set Ghana’s long-term vision for open government and harmonize reforms across levels and branches of government. Ghana has seven members in the OGP Local Program.[5] The Steering Committee can also consider opportunities to expand and coordinate open government at the local level, similar to Morocco’s local open government network.[6]

As a four-year action plan, Ghana will have the opportunity to reflect on progress and refresh at the two-year mark into the implementation period.[7] The IRM will review any commitments added or significantly amended in the refreshed action plan. As most commitments in this action plan call for legislative action, reformers can use the midpoint refresh to update the commitment to include steps towards implementing those laws once passed. For commitments where legislationCreating and passing legislation is one of the most effective ways of ensuring open government reforms have long-lasting effects on government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or r... is stalled, reformers can use the refresh to strategize around opportunities and remove obstacles hindering the legislative action.

Promising Commitments

The following review looks at the two commitments that the IRM identified as having the potential to realize the most promising results. Promising commitments address a policy area that is important to stakeholders or the national context. They must be verifiable, have a relevant open government lens, and have modest or substantial potential for results.

This review also provides an analysis of challenges, opportunities, and recommendations to contribute to the learning and implementation process of this action plan. Specifically, it highlights why the remaining 13 commitments are not considered promising and shares commitment design recommendations on how they could reflect ambitious open government results.

Promising Commitments
Commitments 13 and 15 have been identified as the most promising for yielding significant open government results. These commitments outline clear activities that address critical policy areas and, if fully implemented, could potentially lead to major changes in practice, policy, and institutions for advancing open government.

Table 1. Promising commitments

[1] “Ghana 2023–2027 National Action Plan,” Republic of Ghana, January 2024, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Ghana_Action-Plan_2024-2028_December.pdf.
[2] “Open Gov Challenge,” Open Government Partnership, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/the-open-gov-challenge.
[3] “Ghana’s parliament inaugurates Open Government Partnership Caucus,” Happy Ghana Media, 28 November 2023, https://www.happyghana.com/ghanas-parliament-inaugurates-open-government-partnership-caucus.
[4] “Consultation reports: Roadmap for development of the fifth action plan,” OGP Ghana Secretariat, https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kzcbjjX7n6PIkdFgCEVGyzIpaezgZlIX.
[5] OGP Local members from Ghana include: Anloga, Ketu South, Sekondi-Takoradi, Shama, Tamale, and Wassa Amenfi East. See: “OGP Local,” Open Government Partnership, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/ogp-local.
[6] “Moroccan Network of Open Territorial Collectives,” Directorate General of Territorial Communities, https://collectivites-territoriales.gov.ma/fr/remacto.
[7] See ‘2.3 Four-Years Rules Refresh’ in: “OGP National Handbook,” Open Government Partnership, 2024, https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kzcbjjX7n6PIkdFgCEVGyzIpaezgZlIX.