Emmanuel Mensah
Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem has credited reforms by the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) for reducing the National Service Authority payroll from GH¢1.6 billion to GH¢700 million.
Speaking at the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department Annual Conference 2026, Mr. Ampem said stronger verification systems, stricter commitment controls and tighter payroll checks were responsible for the sharp decline in costs.
According to him, the department’s reforms in 2025 improved confidence in public payroll management through enhanced controls and biometric validations.
“That exercise ensured that about 14,000 unverified workers and 53,307 separated staff who remained on the wage bill were eliminated,” he said.
He revealed that the exercise led to the removal of about 14,000 unverified workers and 53,307 separated staff who had remained on the government wage bill, generating savings worth hundreds of millions of Ghana cedis.
Mr. Ampem said ministries, departments and agencies are also increasingly spending within approved budget ceilings, helping to slow the accumulation of arrears across government.
“MDAs are increasingly spending within approved ceilings and this is contributing to a measurable slowdown in arrears accumulation,” he noted.
He stressed the need for next-generation public financial management systems that can integrate across state institutions, eliminate duplication and improve interoperability.
The Deputy Finance Minister noted that the Ministry of Finance has made public financial management reforms a top priority.
He said the PFM Compliance Division, created last year, has already strengthened fiscal discipline, while a new PFM Systems Division established in March 2026 will oversee the rollout of structural and digital reforms on time and within budget.
Mr. Ampem also announced plans to introduce an AI-powered system to strengthen customs administration, detect undervaluation and plug long-standing revenue leakages at Ghana’s ports.
“This high priority for systemic changes in PFM is what informed our decision to introduce an AI-powered system to strengthen customs administration, detect undervaluation and close long-standing revenue leakages at our ports,” he added.
The latest payroll savings are expected to boost confidence in the government’s broader efforts to improve efficiency, accountability and value for money in the management of public funds.
