President John Dramani Mahama has urged African nations to strengthen public financial management (PFM) systems and embrace technology driven accountability to sustain economic growth, citing Ghana’s recent debt crisis as a cautionary example.
Speaking at the third African Association of Accountants General (AAAG) Conference in Accra on November 25, 2025, Mahama cited Ghana’s default on external debt and subsequent credit rating downgrade as a lesson in fiscal discipline. He mentioned that Ghana’s experience must serve as a lesson to the rest of Africa, noting that rapid debt accumulation and weak oversight had shut the country out of international capital markets.
The president detailed reforms his administration implemented over 10 months to restore fiscal discipline. These include stricter spending controls requiring ministerial approval for expenditures, amendments to the Public Procurement Act to curb inefficiencies, and a legislated debt ceiling limiting borrowing to 45 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030. He also announced plans for value for money audits on major contracts and the decentralization of the Accountant General’s Department to reduce payroll irregularities, including payments to ghost workers.
Mahama stressed the importance of modernizing tax systems and noted the creation of Ghana’s Gold Board as an example of enhanced resource sovereignty, which has increased foreign exchange revenues from gold exports. The Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod) and the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) generated over $8 billion from small scale gold exports between January and October 15, 2025, representing a 75 percent increase over the entire 2024 total of $4.61 billion. The president acknowledged that greater control of natural resources makes a difference, and Africa should not be ashamed of it.
He further urged the continent to leverage emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, blockchain, and integrated financial management systems, to improve transparency, audit efficiency, and traceability in public spending. Mahama described accountants general as frontline defenders of public accountability and called for stronger institutions insulated from political interference.
He also emphasized harmonizing accounting and auditing standards across African regional blocs, including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Southern African Development Community (SADC), and East African Community (EAC), to boost cross border investment and facilitate integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The president warned that corruption, weak procurement systems, and over reliance on external borrowing continue to undermine African economies and erode public trust. “No economic model can succeed without trust,” he said.
On decentralization specifically, Mahama called for sweeping reforms to the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD), arguing the current centralized structure fuels delays, inefficiencies and financial leakages. He illustrated the problem with an example. “The Accountant General in Ghana manages the payroll of a nurse in my hometown in Bole. If she reports to work, she doesn’t report to work; if she deserts her position, her salary continues to go into her account because by the time somebody writes a letter to the region, the region sends it to the ministry, the ministry sends it to the Accountant General, some three, four, five, six months have passed,” Mahama said.
Ghana’s Controller and Accountant General Kwasi Agyei revealed that over 57 percent of Ghana’s domestic revenue is currently absorbed by public sector salaries, warning the heavy wage burden is crowding out critical expenditure in healthcare, education and infrastructure. In February 2025, organized labour agreed to a 10 percent wage increment following Mahama’s appeal for moderation in pay demands.
The AAAG conference, themed “Africa of Tomorrow: Positioning Public Financial Management for Economic Prosperity,” brought together accountants general and financial governance leaders from across Africa to share best practices, explore reforms and promote digital innovation in public financial management. The event ran from November 24 to 27, 2025, at the Accra International Conference Centre, attracting more than 2,000 participants including senior government officials, finance professionals, development partners and fintech innovators.
Frederick Riaga, AAAG Chief Executive Officer, stressed that Africa’s development ambitions hinge on transforming how governments manage public funds, urging adoption of agile, digital, citizen centered and climate responsive systems. AAAG Chairperson Malehlohonolo Mahase described the conference as more than a professional gathering, calling it a movement to advance transparency, accountability and effective service delivery in Africa’s public sector.
The AAAG is a pan African organization under the African Union that works to promote transformation, transparency and accountability in the management of public resources. Previous AAAG conferences were held in Arusha, Tanzania in December 2024 and Maseru, Lesotho earlier in the year.
