Public Financial Management and Service Delivery: A Case Study of Tamale Metropolitan Assembly

Abstract

Public financial management has to do with the efficiency and effectiveness of the utilization of public resources based on budgets that have been approved. The rationale of this research was to establish the correlation between public financial management and service delivery: a case of Tamale Metropolitan Assembly. The specific objective was to establish the relationship between policy-based budgeting and service delivery; determine the extent to which budget credibility support service delivery; and the influence of revenue generation and allocation on service delivery. A descriptive study design and census method was employed. Data was collected not only from the budget and financial reports of the Assembly but also by administering questionnaires to 11 senior staff and their assistants and 62 assembly members in the Metropolis. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation paired sample t-test and regression. The study found that there was a strong relationship between policy-based budgeting and service delivery at the Assembly. The credibility of the Assembly‟s budgets in terms of fiscal discipline was strong but weak when actual budgetary releases were matched to the voted budgets. The Assembly was not able to meet its budgeted revenue. The study also revealed that positive direct relationships exist between revenue allocation and service delivery. The study therefore recommends that the Assembly strengthens its internal controls mechanisms and look inwardly to improve its internally generated fund collection to support service delivery.