Finance Ministry Rejects GHS 8.1bn in Invalid Payment Claims After Audit Review
The Ministry of Finance has declared an end to what it describes as the “systemic plunder of the public purse” following the release of a report by the Ghana Audit Service highlighting significant irregularities in government arrears and payables as of the end of 2024.
Presenting a statement in Parliament on behalf of Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem disclosed that GHS 8.1 billion in public funds had been rejected after being flagged for various irregularities in the Auditor-General’s review.
According to him, the rejected amount formed part of GHS 68.7 billion submitted for audit, with GHS 45.4 billion ultimately validated for payment.
“A total of GHS 8.1 billion was rejected for various reasons, including unsupported documentation, duplication, overstatements, already-paid items, falsified store receipts advice and no work done,” Mr Ampem told Parliament.
The audit findings, he noted, exposed deep-rooted weaknesses within the country’s public financial management system and revealed a pattern of illegal practices used to siphon state resources.
Mr Ampem outlined four key methods through which public funds were allegedly misappropriated. These include fictitious claims involving the fabrication of services and goods that were never delivered; recycled invoices where previously settled bills were resubmitted for double payment; forged receipts, particularly falsified Stores Receipt Advice (SRA) documents; and collusion between public officials and contractors to facilitate the illegal payments.
In response to the findings, the Ministry of Finance announced a new accountability framework described as a “Triple-Lock” policy aimed at strengthening fiscal discipline and tightening expenditure controls.
Under the policy, the Deputy Minister said government will enforce three strict conditions for all future spending: no payment will be processed without full verification, no commitment will be entered into without an approved budgetary allocation, and no public officer will be shielded from accountability regardless of rank.
Mr Ampem stressed that the Ministry will no longer approve payments under weak internal controls.
“Going forward, no payment will be made without full verification, no commitment will be entered into without budgetary allocation, and no officer, regardless of rank, will be shielded from accountability,” he stated.
The Finance Ministry has also referred the Auditor-General’s report to the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice for further investigation and possible prosecution of individuals implicated in the irregularities.
According to the Deputy Minister, the move is intended to ensure accountability and respond to growing public demand for action against those responsible for financial malpractices.
“The Mahama administration refuses to accept this rotten system; in fact, we refuse to normalise waste. And we refuse to ask the Ghanaian people to pay for fraud,” he said.
The Ministry further warned that public servants found to have colluded with contractors or falsified official records would face sanctions under the law, irrespective of their position within the public service.
Government maintains that the measures mark a decisive shift in the country’s fiscal governance and signal a renewed commitment to strengthening transparency and accountability in public financial management under the leadership of John Dramani Mahama.
