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PAC Chair disputes MDAs’ blame of Finance Ministry over GH¢68bn claims

The Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Abena Osei-Asare, has cast doubt on claims by several ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) that the Ministry of Finance is responsible for infractions identified in a recent audit report.

Date Created : 4/3/2026 : Story Author : Dominic shirimori/Ghanadistricts.com

The MDAs had appeared before the committee’s public hearing on the Auditor-General’s Special Audit Report on the Government’s GH¢68 billion outstanding claims and commodities as of December 31, 2024.

According to the Chairperson, their attempts to lay the blame at the doorstep of the Finance Ministry could not be truthful, given the nature of the payment process.

Her remarks followed testimony from an official of the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, who indicated that the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) has the capacity and functionality to prevent most of the infractions in question.

“I must say that I kept telling the committee and the public that there is no way some of these accusations against the Ministry of Finance are true,” Ms. Osei-Asare stated. “In every situation, the request to pay must come from the MDAs. Once the request comes, it goes through a process. For some of the steps, you must use your ministry’s GIFMIS platform before the Ministry of Finance can make the final payment through the Controller and Accountant-General.”

She explained that the root cause of the financial management and reporting shortfalls is poor documentation. “Most of the things we are seeing here have to do with a lack of proper documentation and record-keeping. If they had all these things at the click of a button, they could retrieve the necessary information and realise, for example, that they are not supposed to add a particular claim because it has already been settled by the Ministry of Finance.”

The Chairperson warned that there are sanctions for such infractions, particularly where perjury is involved. “I am not prescribing anything beyond what the law says. When you fall foul of the law in terms of perjury, these are the penalties. So if, upon review, the committee finds that certain individuals did not tell the truth while under oath, the appropriate recommendations will be made in accordance with the law.”

She, however, assured that the committee remains committed to fair hearing. “One person has said one thing, another has said something contrary. We have to sit and determine where the fault truly lies.”

Ms. Osei-Asare stressed that the aim of the hearings is to correct anomalies. “The huge anomaly is the lack of proper documentation and record-keeping. If we can address that, about 70% of the infractions cited in the Auditor-General’s reports will disappear.”

The committee is expected to hold similar public hearings in Tamale and Koforidua. The Chairperson expressed optimism that its report would be ready by the time Parliament resumes.

GENERAL

PAC Chair disputes MDAs’ blame of Finance Ministry over GH¢68bn claims

Date Created : 4/3/2026 : Story Author : Dominic shirimori/Ghanadistricts.com

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