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A gap analysis of public veterinary services in Ghana con-ducted by OIE consultants (Diop et al. 2012) blamed the new MoFA structure introduced by the reforms . According to Humado (2003), the new structure placed emphasis on extension services delivery and led to a reduction in the capacity of veterinary staff to deliver services because of lack of staff. Furthermore, budget allocation shortfalls resulted when district directors committed a dis-proportionate percentage of funds to their area of specialization and administrative expenses (especially vehicle repair and fuel), to the disadvantage of technical services such as veterinary services delivery. Additionally, a number of public services have ceased, including the annual national livestock census and the branding of cattle before issuing movement permits to traders to enable them to transport animals across district boundaries. Meat inspection has also been affected by the changes. For example, visits to the central abattoirs in Accra and Kumasi during this study showed that they have qualified veterinary officers to conduct meat inspection. However, visits to two slaughter slabs attached to small ruminant markets in Kumasi and another in Accra showed that they did not have veterinary officers for meat inspection. A VSD official stationed at one of the central markets in Accra lamented over the growing number of slaughter slabs in the city where the department cannot conduct meat inspection because of the lack of manpower. In summary, the reforms gave the public and private sectors shared responsibility for delivering veterinary services. One of the four service categories, drugs distribution and sale, was shifted entirely to the private sector. For the other three categories (prevention, clinical, and human health protection), the public sector retained responsibility for production and distribution, but funding was shifted to the private sector. However, the public sector had to improvise in order to continue to provide these services. The gaps have been persistently renegotiated and filled by activities of various actors in response to dynamics in the institutional elements (Gyabaah-Yeboah 2005).
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