Appointees will be equipped to manage public finances responsibly — Finance Minister

The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has called for comprehensive education for government appointees on the country's Public Financial Management (PFM) law to close any knowledge gap among officials.

In his first interaction with the staff of the Ministry of Finance, he said it was necessary to equip the appointees with the requisite training so that they could manage public funds effectively.

“One of my key priorities is to ensure that appointees and leaders of Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs), as well as State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), are fully prepared to manage public resources effectively,” he stated.

“Fiscal responsibility must be at the heart of governance, and we will introduce targeted training programmes to achieve it,” he stressed.

Dr Forson said some government appointees lacked sufficient understanding of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (PFMA 921), which he believed led to potential infractions and misuse of financial regulations.

He announced plans to establish a Fiscal Institute to provide specialised training for heads of MDAs, SOEs and other public sector leaders.

The institute, he explained, would focus on enhancing Public Financial Management (PFM) practices to strengthen accountability and transparency in the use of public resources.

The legislator argued that targeted educational initiatives could help minimise legal breaches and improve overall financial governance.

“By ensuring appointees are well versed in the legal framework, the government can reduce unintentional violations of financial management protocols,” he stated.

On behalf of the staff of Ministry of Finance, Chief Director, Ms Eva Mends, pledged their full support towards ensuring the success of the new minister. She stated, “MOF staff will support you and work with you tirelessly to ensure that you deliver  on the mandate entrusted to you by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Ghana.”

Visits to key agencies

The Finance Minister, as part of his familiarisation exercise, also visited two key agencies under the ministry – the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD).

Commencing his tenure with a focused approach, the Finance Minister began by engaging key institutions which are fundamental to the nation's fiscal management and revenue collection.

During his visit to GRA, Dr Forson, who used the occasion to introduce the new Commissioner-General of GRA, urged the management of the authority to cooperate with the new revenue chief in achieving the bigger agenda of resetting the economy.

“Remember, without revenue, there's little we can do, and he is coming at a time that we have very little space even to borrow apart from Treasury Bills, no one is ready to lend us money”.

“We don't have access to the Eurobond market, we don't have access to even commercial bank loans, we don't have access to the domestic bond market. The only access we have is the T-bill or multilateral loans,” he stated.

He said that made revenue generation very critical as it meant that the country must look more within.

Revenue targets

The Finance Minister said he was encouraged because GRA exceeded its revenue target for last year and expressed hope that it would do even better this year.

“I've seen the performance you've made so far and it's obvious that you have exceeded your target for the year 2024. Thank you very much for achieving such a feat. But this year, 2025, you have to do more, you have to do more,” he said.

Dr Forson said just achieving the revenue target would not be enough, urging the GRA to ensure that the country would do less borrowing.

“So, your duty is to help mobilise resources and guide us to do what we have to do,” Dr Forson stated.

He singled out the Customs Division of the GRA to do more since they had the capacity to do so.

“I think, Customs, you can do more. I don't know what is accounting for the performance, but we'll do some further discussion on what we can do together to be able to bring in the revenue,” the Finance Minister said.

More revenue

For his part, the Acting Commissioner-General said the work of GRA was cut out as the economy needed the institution to generate more revenue.

Mr Sarpong said what made the authority strong was its people, the management and the entire team.

“I basically have two hands and one head, but together with a full team of GRA, if we work together as a team, I believe that the challenge that we have been given to increase revenue will be something that we can overcome”.

“Therefore, as I come into this role, one of the key things that I would mention and under my leadership is to make sure that we are looking at the people who make our responsibility happen,” he said.

He pledged to work with the GRA team to ensure that “we are creating a culture where we work as a team, where we work to focus on our priorities, looking at the progress, growth and welfare of the people”.

Visit to CAGD

During his visit to the CAGD, Dr Forson urged the Controller and Accountant General, Kwasi Agyei, to work together with the government to ensure that big-ticket transactions did not crowd out small-ticket ones.

He cited the recent issue with the West African Examinations Council over some delayed payments as something which should not have happened.

“I mean why should we wait until WAEC complains before we pay basic examination grants?

Meanwhile, we were paying the big-ticket expenditures. We don't have to allow the big-ticket items to crowd those important little transactions,” Dr Forson said.