The Minister for Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, has laid the Value for Money Office Bill before Parliament, describing it as a major reform to address inefficiencies in Ghana’s public financial management system.
Presenting the proposed legislation to the House, the Minister said the Bill is intended to confront long-standing problems such as inflated contracts, abandoned projects, cost overruns and wasteful public spending.
He explained that the legislation seeks to institutionalise a robust value-for-money framework to ensure that government expenditure delivers maximum benefit in terms of economy, efficiency, effectiveness, equity and sustainability.
Under the proposal, the Value for Money Office will operate as an independent oversight body with a technical mandate to conduct value-for-money assessments, issue mandatory certificates before the award of major contracts, monitor compliance and apply sanctions where breaches occur.
Dr. Forson noted that the measure is designed to strengthen fiscal discipline, reduce waste, enhance public confidence and reinforce Ghana’s governance and accountability systems.
He added that the Office will help curb contract inflation, promote uniform pricing across government entities and generate measurable cost savings while improving the quality of public projects.
The Minister said the Bill aligns Ghana with international best practices, citing models such as the National Audit Office and the Government Accountability Office, as well as established value-for-money frameworks in Canada and other advanced jurisdictions.
He expressed confidence that the establishment of the Office will boost public trust, strengthen investor confidence and ensure that public investments yield tangible social and economic returns for Ghanaians.
