The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has cleared the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) of claims that it overstated the country’s public debt by GH¢138 million in its 2024 financial statements.
It explained that the discrepancy arose from the inclusion of debts of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) not guaranteed by the central government.
Appearing before the committee in Accra yesterday (August 25), the Controller and Accountant General, Akwasi Agyei, clarified that while the financial statement reported public debt of GH¢861.4 billion for the whole of government — including SOEs — the actual figure for central government and guaranteed SOEs stood at GH¢711.4 billion, consistent with what was reported to Parliament and the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
“The figures haven't changed. The figures, as we see in the financial statement, is the same as we have after the reconciliation. And they haven't impacted on the accounts of the states. There wasn't another statement, but just a few reconciliations that we have to do with the auditors,” Mr Agyei stressed.
Discrepancy
PAC Chairperson, Abena Osei Asare, further explained that the misunderstanding stemmed from the treatment of unguaranteed SOE debts, which did not add to the central government’s debt stock unless the enterprises defaulted.
She urged the CAGD to collaborate more closely with the Audit Service to ensure timely responses that would prevent such discrepancies in future reports.
Committee members also cautioned that premature reports of discrepancies could harm the country’s credit ratings.
They urged stronger coordination between the Audit Service and the CAGD to preserve public trust in official financial reporting.
However, the Auditor-General’s office admitted that its report was issued under time pressure, but confirmed that subsequent reconciliation had validated the Controller’s figures.
Welcomed conclusion
Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, welcomed the committee’s conclusion, describing it as critical for Ghana’s fiscal credibility.
“Mr Chairman, this is a very, very important conclusion that we need to bring to the attention of every Ghanian, and everybody who has interest in Ghana. It was worrying for an impression to be created that the Comptroller and Accountant General had overstated Ghana's public debt.”
“And so this conclusion, sending the message clear to everybody that there was no overstatement of the public debt, and that the public debt, as stated, remains the same, is the most important conclusion that I think everybody must take out of this meeting,” he said.
Weak compliance
Beyond the debt issue, the committee queried the CAGD over weak compliance with the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) by some state institutions.
In response, Controller Akwasi Agyei explained that while all government-funded entities were on GIFMIS, those relying on Internally Generated Funds (IGF), donor inflows and statutory funds often bypassed the system.
He announced plans, with Finance Ministry backing, to phase out manual cheques and integrate payments through the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement System (GhIPSS) to compel full GIFMIS usage.
He revealed a pilot had already shown success.
The Chairperson of the committee raised concerns about widespread overpayments, wrongful allowances, and delayed removal of ghost names from the payroll despite repeated alerts from affected institutions.
