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The Ministry of Finance is the most careless with money, according to the IMANI Ghana report.

The Ministry of Finance is the most careless with money, according to the IMANI Ghana report.

Profile photo of DENNIS ASARE

According to a recent IMANI Ghana research report, from 2015 to 2023, the Ministry of Finance was the most careless with money out of all the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
The Ministry’s frequent budget overruns, excessive borrowing, and poor public money management over the reviewed period are highlighted in the study.

IMANI’s findings indicate that Ghana’s growing debt levels and economic instability are partly attributable to this lack of budgetary restraint.

Between 2021 and 2023, the Ministry of Finance was the most financially irresponsible MDA. The Ministry of Finance’s FRI score was 0.9038, meaning that around 90% of financial violations were linked to the ministry.

The top five financially irresponsible institutions for the assessment period are the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Communication, the Ministry of Roads and Highways, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, according to Dennis Asare, a Senior Research Associate at the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education.

This was revealed by Mr. Asare on October 23, 2024, during a gathering to inform stakeholders of the report’s conclusions.

The anticipated GHC4.89 billion in financial irregularities by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) recorded between 2021 and 2023 is over ten times the cost of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty program in 2023, according to IMANI Ghana.

In order to restore financial discipline within the Ministry and other MDAs and guarantee sustainable economic growth, the report urges immediate reforms and more stringent fiscal measures.

Notwithstanding the fiscal consolidation measures put in place as part of the 17th IMF program and bolstered by a new Public Financial Management Strategy, Ghana has yet to attain a stable and predictable macroeconomic environment. Poverty is still a serious problem, and the business climate is not at all favourable for the private sector. Effective and accountable public financial management systems are necessary to fully restore macroeconomic stability, yet the Auditor General’s findings consistently highlight flaws in monitoring organisations and internal controls.

Political parties have made a number of proposals in their manifestos to improve fiscal accountability and restore macroeconomic stability ahead of the 2024 elections. However, given the historically high likelihood of policy lapses before and after election cycles, these pledges must be compared to the crucial reforms required to reverse the current budgetary issues.

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