Financial irregularities recorded by Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) rose by 125.6 percent in 2025, despite increased financial transfers from the central government, the Deputy Finance Minister, Mr Thomas Nyarko Ampem, has disclosed.
The development contrasts sharply with the broader public sector, where financial irregularities declined significantly during the year.
According to Mr Nyarko Ampem, overall financial irregularities across the public sector fell by 62.9 percent in 2025, enabling the Government to exceed its annual audit reform target by 12.9 percentage points.
He, however, described the situation at the local government level as unacceptable and called for urgent measures to strengthen financial controls and accountability at the assemblies.
Mr Nyarko Ampem made the disclosure at the 2025 Auditor-General’s Reports Engagement in Accra, where he noted that the increase in irregularities among MMDAs remained a major concern despite improvements in public financial management nationally.
Increased Transfers
The Deputy Minister said the rise in irregularities was particularly worrying because it occurred at a time when MMDAs were receiving increased financial support from the central government.
The Government, as part of efforts to deepen decentralisation and improve local development, had increased direct fiscal transfers to local authorities.
Under the 2025 Budget, the Government announced that 80 percent of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) would be transferred directly to MMDAs to facilitate project execution, improve service delivery and minimise bureaucratic delays associated with the release of funds.
Mr Nyarko Ampem said the increased resources made it even more important for assemblies to strengthen their financial management systems and ensure that public funds were used strictly in accordance with established laws and regulations.
He said the development pointed to weaknesses in internal controls and oversight mechanisms within some local government institutions.
Public Sector Irregularities Decline
The engagement heard that financial irregularities across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), MMDAs, the DACF, Public Boards, State-Owned Enterprises and Public Universities and Colleges of Education declined from about GH¢20.72 billion in 2024 to GH¢7.69 billion in 2025.
Mr Nyarko Ampem attributed the overall decline to deliberate measures to strengthen public financial management, improve compliance with financial regulations and enforce greater accountability across public institutions.
He cautioned, however, that the national reduction should not obscure institutions where financial management practices had worsened.
“We must therefore look beyond the headline reduction and focus on the specific institutions, transactions and control weaknesses that continue to expose public resources to loss, misuse or abuse,” he stated.
Government Pushes Recovery
The Deputy Finance Minister said the Government remained committed to ensuring that audit findings resulted in concrete corrective action, particularly the recovery of public funds identified as having been misused or improperly managed.
He said the theme of the engagement, “Recovering Every Cedi,” reflected the Government’s determination to pursue all recoverable amounts and hold persons responsible for the loss or misuse of public resources accountable.
Mr Nyarko Ampem stressed that the responsibility for recovering public funds should not be left solely to the Auditor-General.
He said Ministries, Departments, Agencies and local government authorities also had a responsibility because they were familiar with the transactions, systems and individuals involved.
He therefore urged MMDAs and other public institutions to implement audit recommendations promptly and strengthen preventive controls to minimise future financial irregularities.
The Deputy Minister said Government would continue to monitor compliance, track recovery efforts and enforce accountability measures against institutions that failed to act on audit findings.
