Citizen groups and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have called on government to release stated budgetary allocations to state institutions on time to ensure improved service delivery.

They said undue delays in releasing the allocations has greatly affected the mandatory functions of many state institutions.

They said if over the years, the various governments released the actual budgetary allocations to state institutions on time, many of the accumulated challenges facing the country in the provision of education and health infrastructure and social services would have been minimised.

This formed the core concerns raised at a zonal forum held in Tamale on Wednesday to collate inputs into the 2020 national budget and economic policy of government.

The forum, organised by SEND GHANA in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund, was to create an opportunity for participants to ask questions, share ideas and express their views on issues bordering on education, health and child protection amongst others.

Participants, drawn from Northern, North East, Savannah and Upper East Regions, included traditional authorities, educationists, health workers, Persons with Disabilities, representatives of CSOs working in health, education, and social protection amongst others.

They cited poor resourcing of health facilities, uncompleted health infrastructure, inadequate educational infrastructure, delayed payment of LEAP grants to beneficiaries, inadequate toilet facilities at public institutions amongst others as challenges that the 2020 national budget should focus.

They proposed that the government, through the 2020 national budget, prioritise the allocation of adequate funds to various state institutions as well as release the actual funds to them on time to enable them undertake their activities.

They proposed that funds should be allocated to complete abandoned educational and health infrastructure across the country, to reduce congestion in classrooms as well as ensure quality health care delivery.
They also called on government to establish an emergency fund to support children, who suffer injustice and called for the establishment of correctional centres in all the regions to cater for juvenile offenders.

Mr Mumuni Mohammed, Northern Regional Programme Manager of SEND GHANA, said a similar forum would be held in the Upper West Region, adding that all the inputs would be harmonised for presentation to appropriate ministries before the 2020 budget formulation process elapses.