Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has called for a renewed national commitment to recover, protect and properly account for every cedi of public money.
Speaking in Tamale at an engagement on the 2025 Auditor-General’s Report with Regional Ministers, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), Dr Forson said Ghana could no longer afford to waste public resources.
The engagement, held under the theme “Recovering Every Cedi”, brought together key regional and local government leaders to strengthen financial accountability, improve compliance and ensure that public funds are used strictly for their intended purposes.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Ghana does not have the luxury of wasting public resources. Every cedi already has a job waiting for it,” Dr Forson said.
“It can buy medicine, repair a classroom, desilt a drain, improve a market or maintain a feeder road. So, when a cedi is wasted, left uncollected or poorly spent, somebody, somewhere, loses a service.”
The Finance Minister said the theme must go beyond a conference slogan and become a practical discipline at all levels of government.
“That is why ‘Recovering Every Cedi’ cannot remain just a slogan on today’s banner. It must become a way of working: collect what is due; protect what is collected; spend what is approved; account for what is spent; recover what is owed; and prevent it from happening again,” he stated.
Dr Forson stressed that financial accountability was not only about complying with audit rules but also about protecting services that directly affect citizens’ lives.
He said public funds must translate into visible improvements in communities, including better schools, roads, health facilities, markets, drainage systems and local infrastructure.
He urged Regional Ministers, MMDCEs and Coordinating Directors to take audit findings seriously, recover funds where necessary, close loopholes and strengthen internal controls to prevent future losses.
The meeting was attended by several Regional Ministers, including Northern Regional Minister Ali Adolf John; Savannah Regional Minister Salisu Be-Awuribe Issifu; North East Regional Minister Ibrahim Tia; Upper West Regional Minister Puozuing Charles Lwanga; Oti Regional Minister John Kwadwo Gyapong; and Upper East Regional Minister Akamugri Donatus Atanga.
“Ghana Cannot Afford to Waste Public Funds” – Ato Forson Warns MMDCEs
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