ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT 3.3 Assessment of the performance of APRM objectives Objective 1: Promote macroeconomic policies to support sustainable development i. Self-assessment 22. The CSAR stresses that weak internal capacity and heavy reliance on external resources for financing government development expenditure have impelled Ghana to accept IMF and World Bank guidance in macroeconomic programming in general. Input from the Bank of Ghana has also been important. Even bilateral donors are ranked above local research institutes, private sector institutions and public sector groups as sources of inputs for policy-making and economic planning. 23. Certain disadvantages of excessive reliance the policy analysis and advice of multilateral institutions are highlighted. In particular, many stakeholders believe that macroeconomic stabilisation can be overemphasised trade-offs between macroeconomic stability and economic growth are ignored, while certain social priorities are subordinated. There is also a perception of weak national ownership, which adversely affects programme implementation. Moreover, to many, the role of the state is being redefined without adequate consultation with relevant national stakeholders. 24. In the area of monetary policy and operations, the Bank of Ghana, while operating within the macroeconomic framework established by the IMF, has made considerable progress in recent years. Fiscal management has, however, been far less successful in achieving the desired objectives. 25. Prudent fiscal management requires realistic budgeting, budget implementation that respects budgetary constraints, and an effective system of monitoring and evaluating such implementation. Some progress in these areas is reported, including improved strategies for expenditure management, the introduction of measures for expenditure commitment, and the establishment of a new cash management unit. In addition, the Economic Policy Coordinating Committee (EPCC), established in 2001, is expected to track government cash flows and offer timely advice in this regard. In the context of the GPRS, the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) also performs functions related to monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of policies in this general area. The staff and technical capacities of both the EPCC and NDPC are weak, however. 55