Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson says Ghana can no longer afford to waste public resources and has called for a renewed national effort to recover, protect and properly account for every cedi.
He made the remarks in Tamale during an engagement on the 2025 Auditor-General’s Report involving Regional Ministers and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).
Held under the theme “Recovering Every Cedi”, the meeting brought together senior regional and local government officials to improve financial accountability, strengthen compliance and ensure public funds are used only for their intended purposes.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Ghana does not have the luxury of wasting public resources. Every cedi already has a job waiting for it,” Dr Forson said.
“It can buy medicine, repair a classroom, desilt a drain, improve a market, or maintain a feeder road. So, when a cedi is wasted, left uncollected, or poorly spent, somebody, somewhere, loses a service.”
The Finance Minister said the meeting’s theme should become part of the routine management of public finances rather than remain a slogan associated with the event.
“That is why ‘Recovering Every Cedi’ cannot remain just a slogan on today’s banner. It must become a way of working: collect what is due; protect what is collected; spend what is approved; account for what is spent; recover what is owed; and prevent it from happening again,” he said.
Dr Forson said financial accountability should not be viewed solely as adherence to audit requirements. He linked it directly to the protection and delivery of services that affect citizens in their communities.
Public funds, he said, must result in practical improvements, including better schools, roads, health facilities, markets, drainage systems and other local infrastructure.
He called on Regional Ministers, MMDCEs and Coordinating Directors to act on the findings contained in audit reports, recover money where required and address weaknesses that could lead to further losses.
The officials were also urged to close loopholes and improve internal controls across regional and local government institutions.
The engagement was attended by several Regional Ministers, including Northern Regional Minister Ali Adolf John, Savannah Regional Minister Salisu Be-Awuribe Issifu, North East Regional Minister Ibrahim Tia, Upper West Regional Minister Puozuing Charles Lwanga, Oti Regional Minister John Kwadwo Gyapong and Upper East Regional Minister Akamugri Donatus Atanga.
