For the years 2021–2023, Ghana’s Finance Ministry was once again named the most financially irresponsible public organisation.
This most recent evaluation comes after the Ministry’s 2015–2020 ranking.
This conclusion is included in a recent report published by Oxfam Ghana and IMANI Africa, which used their third version of the Fiscal Recklessness Index to assess financial irregularities among Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
The report places the MoF at the top of the list, followed by the Ministries of Food and Agriculture, Communication and Digitalisation, Roads and Highways, and Health.
During a media briefing on the report’s findings, Dennis Asare, Senior Research Associate at IMANI Africa, revealed that Ghana lost over GH₵ 4.9 billion in 2023 due to various financial irregularities.
Mr Asare stressed that such significant financial losses could have been redirected to social intervention programmes, including the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) initiative and the Ghana School Feeding Programme.
“The Ministry of Finance is considered the most fiscally reckless institution because nearly 90% of the identified irregularities can be traced back to it,” he stated.
He clarified that the MoF’s financial mishandling is indicative of larger systemic problems because it is a key management body that supervises other organisations.
Asare added that other ministries under its control are also affected by the Ministry’s financial irresponsibility. The government’s inability to collect taxes, which indicated weaknesses in revenue mobilisation efforts, was one of the report’s main concerns.
The report included suggestions for resolving these issues, with an emphasis on creating a fiscal council with greater authority.
“We need a stronger fiscal council, not just a committee. All political parties agree on the importance of such an institution. Now is the time to formalize it with legal backing and ensure it has the authority to perform its critical oversight functions effectively,” Mr Asare urged.
Source: Adomonline