- New Value for Money Office to Curb Contract Padding and Create Fiscal Space – Ato Forson
Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson says the newly established Office for Value for Money will help reduce inflated public contracts, curb wasteful government expenditure and create additional fiscal space for priority sectors of the economy.
Speaking after President John Dramani Mahama assented to the bill establishing the office, Dr Forson said the new institution will strengthen fiscal discipline by subjecting public procurement and government projects to tougher scrutiny before taxpayer funds are committed.
“The Office for Value for Money will stop inflation and padding of contracts,” the Finance Minister said, adding that the office is expected to generate significant savings for the state by ensuring that government projects deliver proper value to taxpayers.
According to Dr Forson, the institution will ultimately “pay for itself and reduce public expenditure” by identifying inflated contract values, weak project pricing and inefficient procurement arrangements before they become a burden on the public purse. The Finance Minister further noted that savings from the office’s work would help the government free up resources for other areas of the economy.
“And obviously create fiscal space that will be used to develop other sectors of the economy,” he said.
The Office for Value for Money forms part of the government’s broader public financial management reform agenda, which seeks to improve transparency, accountability and efficiency in public spending. Its creation comes at a time when Ghana is attempting to consolidate fiscal gains after a difficult period of debt restructuring and expenditure rationalisation.
For government, the new office is expected to serve as an institutional filter against contract overpricing, cost overruns, and inefficient public investment decisions. It is also expected to give greater technical weight to the assessment of major public contracts, particularly in areas where weak procurement controls have historically exposed the state to financial losses.
The reform is likely to be closely watched by contractors, ministries, departments, agencies and development partners, given longstanding concerns over inflated contract sums and poor value delivery in public projects.
Analysts say the effectiveness of the new office will depend on whether it is given sufficient independence, technical capacity and political backing to challenge questionable contracts before approval. The office will also need to enforce recommendations, rather than merely issue advisory opinions.
Despite recent improvements in key macroeconomic indicators, Ghana continues to face constraints in its fiscal space. That makes expenditure efficiency central to the government’s ability to fund infrastructure, social services, private sector support and job-creating programmes without worsening the public debt position.
The establishment of the Office for Value for Money, therefore, places renewed pressure on government to show that fiscal discipline will not be limited to revenue mobilisation and spending cuts but will also extend to the quality, pricing and developmental impact of public contracts.
