One key mandate of the Mahama administration has been to tighten controls on public spending and ensure greater value from government expenditure. That objective has led to the creation of the Value for Money Office, which is expected to strengthen scrutiny of government contracts and public projects.
In a statement issued today, the Presidency announced the appointment of Harvard-trained lawyer Dr. Abdul-Baasit Aziz-Bamba as Acting Director-General of the Office, marking a key step towards making the new institution fully operational.
The appointment comes as the government seeks to tighten expenditure controls after years of concerns over inflated contracts, cost overruns, abandoned projects and weak monitoring of public investments.
Ghana’s 2026 Budget projected total government expenditure of more than GH¢300 billion, making efforts to improve the efficiency of public spending important as the country works to consolidate recent fiscal gains.
The Value for Money Office is expected to strengthen oversight earlier in the spending process, potentially subjecting major projects and contracts to greater scrutiny before public funds are committed.
Government has also previously identified procurement inefficiencies as a significant source of losses to the public purse. Stronger value-for-money assessments could therefore shift the focus from identifying financial irregularities after funds have been spent to preventing inefficient expenditure before contracts are executed.
The appointment of Aziz-Bamba, who previously served as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana School of Law, is expected to pave the way for the Value for Money Office to begin its work. The Presidency said the Office is mandated to ensure that “every cedi of public expenditure serves the public good,” with its work expected to bring greater scrutiny to how government funds are allocated and spent.
The appointment was made under Article 195(1) of the Constitution and Section 14(1) of the Value for Money Office Act, 2026. Aziz-Bamba will serve in an acting capacity pending the constitutionally required advice of the Office’s Governing Board, given in consultation with the Public Services Commission.
