Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has called for stricter public funds accountability, warning regional and local government officials that Ghana can no longer afford to lose scarce resources through waste, weak controls or uncollected revenue.
Speaking in Tamale at an engagement on the 2025 Auditor General’s Report, Dr Forson urged Regional Ministers, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives and Coordinating Directors to treat audit findings as matters requiring action, not paperwork.
The meeting was held under the theme, “Recovering Every Cedi,” as government pushes public institutions to strengthen financial controls and pursue the recovery of funds identified through audit processes.
“Ghana does not have the luxury of wasting public resources. Every cedi already has a job waiting for it,” Dr Forson said.
He pointed to medicines, classrooms, drainage, markets and feeder roads as examples of services affected when public money is poorly managed.
“So, when a cedi is wasted, left uncollected or poorly spent, somebody, somewhere, loses a service,” he added.
Audit Findings Must Lead to Recovery
Dr Forson said accountability should extend beyond compliance with audit procedures to recovering money owed to the state and stopping similar losses from recurring.
“Recovering Every Cedi cannot remain just a slogan on today’s banner,” he said.
He urged local government leaders to collect revenue due to the state, protect resources already collected, spend within approved limits and properly account for expenditure.
Government has previously said the objective of the Auditor General engagement is to move from simply identifying irregularities to actual recovery and stronger preventive controls.
The Finance Minister called on Regional Ministers and MMDCEs to close financial loopholes and strengthen internal controls within their jurisdictions.
He said public money should ultimately produce visible improvements in roads, schools, health facilities, drainage, markets and other local infrastructure.
The Tamale engagement was attended by regional ministers from Northern, Savannah, North East, Upper West, Oti and Upper East regions, among others.
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