Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has disclosed that multiple recycled invoices, some dating back to the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration have been detected in the payment claims submitted by the Ministry of Roads and Highways.
Dr. Forson revealed that his Ministry has launched a deeper probe into the suspicious invoices, which were flagged during routine scrutiny of outstanding claims.
“Some of the things we’ve picked up at the Ministry of Finance are the fact that we’ve seen a number of recycled invoices,” Dr. Forson said. “And some came from the Ministry of Roads.”
He explained that the issue was initially brought to his attention by the current Minister for Roads and Highways, Governs Agbodza, who noticed potential duplications within the Ministry’s payment pipeline.
“The Minister of Roads himself informed us that he picked this up, so we should investigate those ones,” Dr. Forson noted.
Recycled invoices, payment requests submitted more than once, often to inflate claims or bypass controls, pose serious risks to the integrity of public financial management.
While Dr. Forson did not disclose the exact value of the recycled invoices detected so far, he confirmed that a full investigation is underway to determine the extent of the irregularities and identify those responsible.
This is not the first time concerns have been raised over irregularities in road project payments. In recent years, auditors and civil society groups have flagged several instances of overbilling, contract variations, and unauthorised expenditure in the roads sector.
Dr. Forson reiterated the Finance Ministry’s commitment to transparency and assured the public that any anomalies found will be dealt with in accordance with the law.
“We’re taking steps to clean up the system and ensure that no fraudulent or unverified claims make it through the payment process,” he said.
