Deputy Minister for Finance Thomas Nyarko Ampem has called on internal auditors to intensify checks on procurement, payroll systems and major public investments to detect risks early and help prevent public funds being misused.
Speaking on behalf of the Minister for Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, at the 25th anniversary of the Institute of Internal Auditors Ghana, Mr Ampem said auditors should make greater use of data analytics, digital tools and continuous risk assessments.
He said digitalisation alone would not be enough, arguing that it needed to be matched by professional expertise, institutional independence and accountability from management.
Mr Ampem also urged heads of public institutions to give internal auditors the authority and support needed to do their work, safeguard their independence and respond quickly to audit recommendations.
Failure to act, he warned, would allow the same weaknesses to persist.
He said the success of the government’s New Economy agenda would depend not only on the resources it was able to mobilise, but also on how securely and efficiently those resources were managed.
“We cannot build a New Economy with old habits of waste, weak controls and avoidable financial losses,” he said.
Irregularities fall but remain significant
Mr Ampem referred to figures contained in the 2025 Auditor-General’s reports, which showed that financial irregularities across five categories of public institutions had fallen from approximately GH¢20.72 billion in 2024 to GH¢7.69 billion in 2025.
That represented a 62.9 per cent reduction.
While welcoming the improvement, he said the value of the irregularities still recorded showed that efforts to strengthen accountability and public financial management had to continue.
“A 62.9 per cent reduction is progress. GH¢7.69 billion in remaining irregularities is a reminder that the job is far from finished,” he said.
The Deputy Minister also pointed to the audit of the government’s legacy arrears and payables.
Of the GH¢68.7 billion in claims submitted for verification, GH¢8.1 billion was rejected.
Those claims included submissions lacking adequate supporting documents, duplicate claims, falsified receipts and payments sought for work that had not been carried out.
Mr Ampem said the findings demonstrated the value of effective internal controls before public money was released.
“The lesson is that it is better to stop an improper payment before it is paid than to spend years trying to recover it,” he said.
