The government of Ghana has discovered that Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) signed contracts worth over GH₵194 billion without proper approval. This amount equals 16.5% of Ghana’s GDP at the end of 2024.
The issue was revealed during the presentation of the 2025 Budget to Parliament. The Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Baah Forson explained that many contracts, especially in the road sector (over GH₵100 billion), were signed without the required certificates, approvals or budget allocations.
This violates the Public Financial Management Act, 2016. In addition, the government is struggling with unpaid bills totaling GH₵67.5 billion.
The Minister warned that this poses a serious financial challenge and must be addressed urgently to restore economic stability. Economic experts worry this could slow down efforts to fix Ghana’s finances.
The government plans to investigate the contracts, conduct audits, and possibly take legal action against those responsible. The 2025 budget is expected to introduce stricter financial controls to prevent similar issues in the future.
Opposition leaders call the situation “reckless mismanagement” and demand full parliamentary investigation. Civil society groups want transparency in addressing the issue while ensuring fair treatment of affected contractors.
The Finance Ministry has promised to enforce stricter financial rules to prevent this from happening again. As Parliament debates the budget, the government will need to prove how it plans to fix this problem while continuing its development plans.