Ghana’s Ministries, Departments and Other Agencies (MDAs) recorded financial irregularities amounting to GH¢5.26 billion in 2025, with weaknesses in tax administration accounting for more than 91 percent of the total, according to the latest Auditor-General’s Report on the Public Accounts of Ghana.
The report, submitted by the Immediate Past Auditor-General, Johnson Akuamoh Asiedu, examined the financial activities of MDAs for the year ended December 31, 2025, and identified significant lapses across seven major categories.
Tax-related irregularities emerged as the biggest concern, totaling GH¢4.8 billion, representing 91.2 percent of all financial infractions recorded during the period.
According to the report, the amount includes GH¢3.02 billion in outstanding tax debt owed by ten state institutions and GH¢701.72 million in VAT and related levies due from 7,970 VAT-registered taxpayers.
The Auditor-General attributed the situation largely to weaknesses in tax collection and enforcement and urged the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to strengthen staff supervision, improve tax collection efforts, intensify the recovery of overdue taxes, and enforce sanctions under existing tax laws.
Cash irregularities were the second-largest category, amounting to GH¢410.7 million, or 7.8 percent of the total. These involved unapproved payments, unsupported payment vouchers, unaccounted revenue, unretired imprests, and missing financial records.
One of the most notable findings was GH¢285.76 million linked to 34 transactions for which payment vouchers and supporting documents were not available for audit.
The Auditor-General directed the Chief Director of the Ministry of Energy to provide the necessary documentation or refund the amount into the Auditor-General’s Recoveries Account.
Irregularities involving indebtedness, loans, and advances totaled GH¢29.25 million. Out of this amount, GH¢10.74 million was owed by 596 staff members of the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service under the Ministry’s Vehicle Hire-Purchase Scheme.
To recover the money, the report recommended that repayments be deducted directly from the beneficiaries’ salaries through the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department.
Payroll irregularities amounted to GH¢19.92 million, including GH¢7.49 million paid to four deceased pensioners between February 2019 and March 2026.
The Auditor-General directed the Controller and Accountant-General to recover the full amount, together with interest at the prevailing Bank of Ghana rate, from the next of kin of the deceased beneficiaries. The report added that legal action should be taken if recovery efforts fail.
The audit also uncovered GH¢1.13 million in stores and procurement irregularities. This included GH¢1.08 million paid in advance by 11 health facilities for vehicles under a hire-purchase agreement that had not been delivered by the end of 2025.
The report recommended that the Director-General ensure the affected facilities receive refunds for the undelivered vehicles.
Contract irregularities totaled GH¢3.35 million, with GH¢2.3 million identified as an advance payment made to Arch-Qube and Associates Limited for the supply of a patrol boat to the Fisheries Commission.
As of December 2025, the patrol boat had not been delivered.
The Auditor-General directed that the amount be recovered from the contractor and paid into the Auditor-General’s Recoveries Account. If recovery from the company proves unsuccessful, the Chief Director responsible should be held personally liable.
The report noted that the findings point to persistent weaknesses in financial management across public institutions, ranging from poor tax enforcement and inadequate documentation to payments for undelivered goods and benefits paid to deceased individuals.
It added that further investigations will be conducted where necessary, with any unlawful expenditure subject to disallowance and the responsible public officials liable to surcharge in accordance with the law.
