Learn from Ghana's management of economic crises - President Mahama to African countries
President John Dramani Mahama has said that the government’s prudent management of the economy leading to a rapid fiscal turnaround is a lesson for the entire African continent to learn the perils of fiscal indiscipline and the need for robust public financial management.
“Ghana's experience must serve as a lesson to the rest of Africa.
"We had one ministry whose budget was GH¢1.9 billion, but they ended up, without permission from the Ministry of Finance, spending GH¢9 billion instead of the GH¢1.9 billion.
"Ministers could commit the government, you know, without recourse to the Ministry of Finance. All that has changed,” he said.
President Mahama was addressing the opening session of the third annual conference of African Accountants-General in Accra yesterday.
The conference, which runs till November 27, 2025, is being attended by about 2,000 public sector accountants, experts, leaders and innovators.
They are expected to discuss reforms in Public Finance Management (PFM) to help advance sustainable development across Africa.
Lack of control systems
President Mahama attributed such anomalies to lack of controls that also led to the debt default which shut Ghana out of international capital markets.
He outlined key legislative interventions by the government that had helped stabilise the economy in the last 10 months.
The President mentioned reforms of public procurement, which he said was also a major source of the leakages.
"Procurement is one of the biggest sources of leakages in public financial management.
The private sector goes and procures something, and the government goes and procures the same thing at 10 times the price,” he said.
President Mahama described the modern Accountant-General as an "architect of national economic stability and frontline defenders of public accountability."
He urged them to embrace technological tools to enhance transparency and block leakages, adding that "probity and accountability are the foundation of sustainable development".
"They are not merely abstract ideals, they are practical governance tools that protect public resources, ensures that citizens’ taxes are used responsibly while fostering confidence in national institutions," the President said.
Ghost names
President Mahama further said that while checks were in place to ensure fiscal discipline, efforts were also being made to decentralise the Accountant-General’s Department to combat ghost names on the government payroll.
For instance, he said: "There is a case of a person who died in the last Auditor-General's report, and officials of the entity attended his funeral, and yet for 36 months, his salary was credited to his account."
The President also questioned the effectiveness of internal audit systems, asking, "how is it that the internal audit process does not work effectively?
“How is it that at the end of the year, the auditor general's department comes in with a whole list of malfeasance that has taken place in public organisations?" he added.
Gold Board
President Mahama also touched on natural resource sovereignty as a means of strengthening African economies, using Ghana’s gold sector as a success story.
He recounted a disparity in trade figures with India, which indicated massive under-declaration of gold exports.
"This government took the bold decision to establish the Gold Board and make it illegal to take any gold out of Ghana, and this comes with stringent penalties.
"And you won't believe it, the amount of foreign exchange that we get from the gold trade has suddenly jumped so high. It just shows you what greater control of your natural resources can do, and Africa should not be ashamed of it," the President said.
