By Rachel Quartey & Rukayatu Musah
The Controller and Accountant-General, Kwasi Agyei, and Deputy Finance Minister, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, have jointly underscored the need for stronger accountability and accelerated digital reforms to sustain Ghana’s improving fiscal outlook.
The 2026 CAGD Annual Conference, currently underway, on the theme “Leveraging Technology, Transparency and Accountability for Sustainable Fiscal Governance,” has brought together key stakeholders to assess the country’s public financial management systems. Speakers at the conference say Ghana’s economy is showing clear signs of recovery, driven by disciplined fiscal management and ongoing structural reforms.
Speaking at the conference, Mr. Agyei highlighted ongoing reforms within the Department, including the transition to fully electronic payments and strengthened payroll controls.
“This reform eliminates inefficiencies, reduces delays, strengthens audit trails, and significantly reduces opportunities for fraud,” he said, referring to the phase-out of manual cheques.
He also stressed the importance of tackling persistent audit infractions across public institutions. “These infractions… signal a breakdown in accountability and erode public confidence in the stewardship of national resources,” he warned.
Mr. Agyei added that biometric verification and tighter controls are being introduced to strengthen payroll integrity and ensure only verified employees remain on government payroll.
On his part, Mr. Ampem said government reforms under the Reset Agenda are yielding results, pointing to improved fiscal discipline and stronger public financial management.
“We have restored fiscal discipline as a cornerstone of economic governance, and you… have been central to this,” he said.
He revealed that recent payroll audits removed about 14,000 unverified workers and over 53,000 separated staff, generating savings worth hundreds of millions of cedis.
“This is delivering estimated savings running into hundreds of millions of cedis,” he noted.
The Deputy Minister also highlighted declining payroll costs at the National Service Authority and improved expenditure controls across government institutions.
Looking ahead, both officials emphasized the shift toward data-driven and technology-led financial management.
“Data analytics must become a core competency… the future of public finance will not be managed by manual processes,” Mr. Ampem said.
They jointly called for stricter compliance with financial regulations, stressing that accountability remains critical to sustaining economic gains and rebuilding public trust.
“Fiscal discipline is not an end in itself—it is the foundation on which sustainable development is built,” Mr. Ampem added.
