MDAs must obtain new commitment authorisation for 2026 spending - MoF

The Deputy Minister for Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, has directed all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to obtain fresh Commitment Authorisations for all expenditure in 2026, explaining that authorisations granted in 2025 have expired and are no longer valid for this year’s procurement activities.

Addressing Chief Directors, Heads of Covered Entities, and Chief Executives of Public Institutions at a meeting on the modalities for Commitment Authorisation for 2026, the Deputy Minister stressed that all spending in 2026 must strictly remain within approved budgetary ceilings.

Ampem, who is also the Member of Parliament for the Asuogyaman Constituency, announced a new two-week turnaround target for the Ministry of Finance to process and approve Commitment Authorisation requests, provided all required documentation is properly submitted.

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To streamline the approval process, he directed that all future requests should be routed through the relevant Sector Ministers. However, to minimise bureaucratic delays, MDAs have been instructed to submit copies of their applications directly to the Ministry of Finance, which will commence processing while awaiting formal referral.

The Deputy Minister further clarified that MDAs with ongoing projects from 2025, where contracts have been awarded but payments remain outstanding, must fully disclose these commitments. Such obligations, he said, will be treated as a first charge on their 2026 budgets before any new expenditure is approved.

Explaining the rationale behind the Commitment Authorisation system, Ampem noted that it was introduced to prevent public institutions from committing the state to projects without approved budgetary allocations.

He observed that in the past, substantial financial commitments were undertaken without the knowledge of the Ministry of Finance, contributing significantly to the country’s rising public debt.

He emphasised that strict enforcement of these measures is critical to curbing unauthorised spending and forms part of a mandatory framework aimed at restoring budgetary discipline and ensuring debt sustainability under Ghana’s IMF-supported programme.

“If this country had respected the budget and committed the state only when funds were available, we would not have found ourselves where we are today,” he said.