Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has urged regional ministers and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to intensify efforts to recover public funds identified in audit reports and strengthen systems to prevent financial irregularities.
He said public officials must recognise that state resources belong to the people of Ghana and that those entrusted with managing them have a duty to account for every cedi.
Dr. Forson made the call during an engagement on the Auditor-General’s Report attended by regional ministers and MMDCEs.
“Public money does not belong to government officials. We are only the custodians of those resources. Those resources belong to the people of Ghana, our constituents, our citizens,” he said.
He urged the officials to pursue the recovery of funds that could be retrieved and ensure that public resources entrusted to them were properly accounted for.
“So let us recover every cedi that is recoverable. Let us account for every cedi entrusted to us as public officials,” he stated.
Beyond recovering funds, the Finance Minister said government institutions must establish stronger systems to prevent recurring financial irregularities rather than treating audit findings and subsequent recoveries as routine exercises every year.
“But above all, let us build systems where recovery becomes the exception, not an annual ritual,” he added.
