BudgIT Ghana has called for stronger reforms to deepen parliamentary openness and citizen participation following the release of the 2024 Africa Open Parliament Index (OPI), which ranked Ghana second out of 33 parliaments across the continent.
The OPI, developed by the Parliamentary Network Africa (PNA) and the Africa Parliamentary Monitoring Organisations Network (APMON), measures how open, accountable, and responsive African parliaments are to their citizens. Ghana’s 2024 score of 77.60% reflects a significant leap from 63.03% in 2022, a performance that BudgIT describes as “both recognition and responsibility.”
Jennifer A. Moffatt, Country Lead at BudgIT Ghana, said the new ranking acknowledges Ghana’s steady progress in transparency while also highlighting the urgent need for deeper accountability and civic engagement.
“Ghana’s performance in the 2024 Open Parliament Index is both a commendation and a challenge,” she noted. “It reflects steady progress in transparency, yet underscores the urgent need to deepen accountability and citizen participation. True openness goes beyond access to information; it is about empowering citizens to shape governance and demand results actively.”
According to the Index, Ghana performed strongly in Transparency (54) and Civic Participation (55), but lagged in Accountability (40)—a sign that access to information has improved but citizen oversight remains limited. While legislative transparency, digital access, and institutional visibility have expanded, BudgIT says much more must be done to translate openness into genuine citizen empowerment.
The organisation pointed out that despite progress, many Ghanaians—particularly in rural and marginalised communities—struggle to navigate parliamentary information or participate meaningfully in legislative processes. Public hearings remain infrequent, and feedback systems are fragmented, often leaving citizens as observers rather than active contributors to governance.
BudgIT Ghana emphasised that sustained reform is needed to close the gap between formal transparency and functional participation. The group called for institutionalising citizen involvement in law-making, strengthening feedback systems such as the Citizens’ Bureau, simplifying parliamentary data, and embedding transparency protocols into parliamentary standing orders and budget frameworks.
“Transparency is meaningful only when it triggers reform and accountability,” BudgIT said, adding that Ghana’s leadership in parliamentary openness across West Africa must be matched by consistent political will and inclusive engagement.
As part of its advocacy, BudgIT reaffirmed its commitment to collaborate with Parliament, civil society, and citizens to ensure that openness evolves from principle to practice.
“Ghana must now advance from an open parliament by design to an open parliament by practice—one that is genuinely participatory, people-centred, and fully responsive to citizens,” Moffatt stated.
The 2024 OPI, BudgIT added, is not just a ranking but a call to action—one that challenges institutions to make transparency, accountability, and participation the true pillars of Ghana’s democracy.
Below is the statement from BudgIT Ghana
