Mid-Year Budget to Provide Clarity on Road Contractor Arrears, Says Deputy Finance Minister
Government will provide detailed clarity on outstanding payments owed to road contractors in the forthcoming mid-year budget review, Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Ampem Nyarko, has disclosed.
The announcement comes amid growing concern within the construction sector over prolonged payment delays, which have reportedly stalled several infrastructure projects nationwide.
Speaking in an interview on Wednesday, July 2, Mr. Nyarko revealed that a comprehensive audit of contractor arrears has been concluded by the Auditor-General in collaboration with top accounting firms. The audit findings, he said, have led to the disallowance of some payment claims.
“All these will be programmed in our budget, the Auditor-General and the accounting firms have submitted reports showing that some of the amounts are being disallowed. In the mid-year budget review, Dr. Forson will report on that and outline the audited arrears and the plan to clear them,” he stated.
The Deputy Minister indicated that the government has allocated GHS 13 billion towards arrears clearance in the 2025 fiscal year, with a similar commitment planned for 2026.
“Already, we have made plans for GHS 13 billion, which we are religiously pursuing this year. In next year’s budget, we will announce another amount,” Mr. Nyarko stated.
He noted that the current administration is adopting a more disciplined fiscal approach to prevent future arrears accumulation, including stricter control over expenditure authorisations.
“We are managing the financing so well that we do not have arrears build-up, and we have given commitment authorisations to prevent spending beyond approved budgets,” he added.
Mr. Nyarko also took a swipe at the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, accusing it of poor fiscal management that resulted in unsustainable debt accumulation and widespread arrears.
“If we go the way they [NPP] did, we will be clearing arrears and building up new ones at the same time. That is not how to manage an economy,” he said.
The mid-year budget review, to be presented by Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson later this month, is expected to address key fiscal consolidation efforts, update macroeconomic targets, and present government’s strategy for clearing verified arrears in a sustainable manner.
