A government audit of Ghana’s accumulated arrears has uncovered GH¢21.35 billion in suspicious, duplicated, fictitious, and unverifiable claims submitted to the Ministry of Finance, with the government pledging prosecution of all individuals implicated in what it has described as the systemic looting of public funds.
The findings were presented to Parliament on Monday, March 10, by Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem on behalf of Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson. The audit, conducted by the Ghana Audit Service in partnership with international firms Ernst and Young (EY) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), examined GH¢68.7 billion in unpaid Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs), invoices and Bank Transfer Advices (BTAs) submitted by ministries, departments and agencies as at end-2024.
Of the total reviewed, GH¢45.4 billion was validated for payment, GH¢8.1 billion was rejected outright for irregularities including falsified store receipt documents, duplicated invoices, claims for work never done, and items already paid, while a further GH¢13.3 billion remains under scrutiny pending third-party confirmation and supporting documentation.
“This report exposes the systemic plunder and abuse of the public financial management system,” Ampem told Parliament, adding that the Finance Minister had forwarded the audit report to the Attorney-General’s Department for further investigation and possible prosecution.
Among the most alarming individual findings was a GH¢89.4 million claim submitted by the Ministry of Trade and Industry as interest subsidies owed to five commercial banks under the One District One Factory (1D1F) programme. When auditors contacted the banks directly, none confirmed being owed any funds under the arrangement. The GH¢89.4 million liability was classified as entirely fictitious. A separate payment of GH¢10.5 million purportedly directed to a commercial bank buffer account was also found to reference an account number that did not exist within the bank’s system.
The audit further found that the government paid for 34,000 metric tonnes of rice under its dry spell relief programme, but the Ministry of Food and Agriculture could only account for the receipt and distribution of 24,000 metric tonnes, leaving 10,000 metric tonnes unaccounted for despite full payment having been made. A separate maize procurement exercise revealed that only 11,900 metric tonnes were actually supplied against a larger contracted quantity, with the shortfall certified as delivered by the ministry’s own internal auditor.
Parliament subsequently referred the audit report to its Public Accounts Committee (PAC), directing the committee to conclude its examination within three weeks. The government said stricter verification procedures will now govern all public payments to prevent further abuse.
The findings have lent renewed weight to a longstanding argument made by veteran journalist Kwesi Pratt, who said this week on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana that Ghana’s political financing structure creates conditions where public resources become targets. Pratt argued that until the cost of political competition including elections he suggested require as much as $100 million to win is structurally addressed, corruption debates would continue to recur regardless of audits and prosecutions.
