The Deputy Minister of Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, has disclosed that about GH¢13 billion worth of claims passed on by the previous NPP administration have been disallowed following a comprehensive nationwide audit of government arrears.
He described the development as a major fiscal gain for the state, emphasising the government’s commitment to transparency and accountability in the management of public finances.
Speaking on the Breakfast Show on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, Mr Nyarko Ampem explained that the audit was commissioned by the Ministry of Finance and conducted by the Ghana Audit Service in collaboration with leading accounting firms. The audit uncovered significant irregularities in some of the inherited claims.
“Government is dealing with the arrears. In fact, one of the things the minister presented to the cabinet [Tuesday] was the audited arrears,” he said.
“We commissioned the Audit Service and the accounting firms to audit the arrears stock that we inherited, and that work has been completed. About GH¢13 billion has been disallowed, and so that is some savings.”
The deputy minister noted that the government had made provision in the 2025 budget to clear GH¢13.7 billion out of the total GH¢67 billion arrears inherited from the previous administration. The remainder will be spread over the next four years to ensure fiscal stability.
He added that payments for verified claims have already begun and stressed that the government would only settle debts validated by auditors.
“We are strictly paying those who have been validated by the auditors,” Mr Nyarko Ampem emphasised.
To boost public confidence and ensure accountability, the deputy minister announced plans to publish the full list of claims — including those rejected, validated, and those still under review.
“The agreement we had with the auditors is that we will publish all those that have been rejected,” he explained. “We will also publish those that are still pending, sometimes because the contractors have not been reached or the required documents are not available.”
Mr Nyarko Ampem highlighted that the audit is part of the government’s broader fiscal clean-up strategy, aimed at ensuring that only legitimate debts owed to contractors, public-sector workers, and other claimants are honoured.
“Only verified debts will be settled,” he stressed, adding that the final details of the disallowed arrears will be made public once Cabinet completes its review.
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