Ghana Deputy Finance Minister urges stronger controls to prevent public fund leaks

Ghanaian Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem has called on internal auditors to implement stronger preventive controls to stop improper payments before they occur. Speaking at the 25th anniversary of the Institute of Internal Auditors Ghana, Ampem emphasized that the government’s ‘New Economy’ agenda requires safeguarding scarce public resources from waste and mismanagement.

Ampem highlighted that during an audit of the government’s legacy arrears and payables, GH¢8.1 billion out of GH¢68.7 billion in submitted claims were rejected. The rejections were due to factors such as inadequate documentation, duplicate claims, falsified receipts, and work that was not performed. He urged auditors to move from post-mortem reviews toward proactive scrutiny of procurement, payroll, and major public investments.

According to the 2025 Auditor-General’s reports, financial irregularities across public institutions decreased by 62.9%, falling from GH¢20.72 billion in 2024 to GH¢7.69 billion in 2025. While acknowledging this progress, the Deputy Minister warned that the remaining GH¢7.69 billion in irregularities indicates that the work to ensure accountability is not yet complete.