Parliament passes Value for Money Office Bill, 2026 - To promote public procurement transparency, accountability

Parliament has passed the Value for Money Office Bill, 2026, to ensure that all public contracts deliver value for money. 

The bill seeks to establish a Value for Money Office to regulate, monitor, coordinate and promote value-for-money assessments.

It will also enhance efficiency, transparency and accountability in public expenditure and procurement.

It was presented to Parliament by the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, on February 24, this year, and subsequently referred to the Finance Committee of Parliament for consideration and report.

The Minority Caucus in Parliament distanced itself from the processes leading to the passage of the Value for Money Office Bill, 2026, warning that the proposed law could rather worsen corruption in the country.

Defence of bill

Providing a justification for the bill during a motion for the House to debate the bill after its second reading on March 18 this year, the Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, rejected claims that the proposed office would promote corruption.

He explained that the initiative was intended to strengthen oversight by ensuring that all contracts delivered value for money.

Mr Nyarko Ampem said while the Public Procurement Authority ensured procedural compliance, it did not adequately address cost efficiency.

“It is going to ensure a life cycle costing, technical soundness and post-contract verification,” he said.

He added that Ghana previously relied on external institutions such as Crown Agents, a UK-based firm, to conduct such assessments.

“As we speak now, Crown Agents has left this country, and so there is no institution to provide this service, and so it is timely that we have our own Value for Money Office to conduct value for money for procurements that we do in this country,” he said.

Mr Nyarko Ampem insisted that inflated costs were not limited to sole-sourced contracts.

“That is not true, as we have seen competitive bidding contracts that have been overpriced.”

“In fact, we have seen cost build-ups in our contracts that show the purchasing of mobile phones and airtime for contractors. We have seen cost lines that indicate renting hotel accommodation for contractors.”

“All these are competitive bid contracts, and so it is not true that only sole-sourced or restricted tendering has been overpriced,” he said.

Why Minority rejected bill

Providing reasons for rejecting the bill, the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, argued that existing legal frameworks, including the Public Financial Management Act and the Public Procurement Act, already provided adequate mechanisms to ensure validation and value for money in public spending.

He maintained that the bill would create an additional layer of bureaucracy that could be politically controlled and less effective at curbing corruption.

Mr Afenyo-Markin, therefore, called on the government to strengthen existing laws rather than create a new office.