{
  "id": 15148314,
  "title": "Dep. Finance Minister calls for stronger internal controls to protect public funds",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/dep-finance-minister-calls-for-stronger-internal-controls-to-protect",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-17T07:34:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "3News",
    "slug": "3news",
    "url": "https://3news.com/news/dep-finance-minister-calls-for-stronger-internal-controls-to-protect-public-funds"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem urged for enhanced internal controls to protect public funds from financial irregularities. Speaking at the Institute of Internal Auditors Ghana's 25th anniversary, Ampem emphasized the importance of effective internal auditing to ensure proper management of public resources towards the government's New Economy agenda. He stressed that internal auditors should shift from merely identifying weaknesses after they occur to preventing financial losses. Ghana's development goals, such as building a more productive, industrialised, and resilient economy, require substantial investments in infrastructure, skills, technology, and productive enterprises, necessitating strong controls to prevent waste and mismanagement.\n\nAmpem highlighted that financial irregularities across five categories of public institutions decreased significantly from GH¢20.72 billion in 2024 to GH¢7.69 billion in 2025, a 62.9% reduction. While praising this progress, he noted that the remaining irregularities underscore the need for ongoing efforts to bolster accountability and improve public financial management. The Deputy Minister revealed that among rejected claims in the audit of government's legacy arrears and payables, 8.1 billion out of 68.7 billion submitted for verification were due to inadequate documentation, duplicate claims, falsified receipts, or work not performed. He urged internal auditors to intensify scrutiny of procurement processes, payroll systems, and major public investments to identify risks early and prevent misuse of public funds.\n\nAmpem advocated for the adoption of data analytics, digital tools, and continuous risk assessment, stressing that digitalisation requires professional competence, institutional independence, and management accountability. He also called on heads of institutions to empower internal auditors, safeguard their independence, and act promptly on audit recommendations to avoid recurrence of weaknesses. He concluded that the government's New Economy agenda's success depends not only on mobilised resources but also on their effective safeguarding and utilization, emphasizing that old habits of waste and financial losses cannot be tolerated.",
  "summary": "we cannot mobilise scarce resources for development on one hand and allow them to leak through weak financial controls on the other",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Antara News Indonesia",
        "title": "Minister seeks stronger furniture, craft industry to boost value",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/minister-seeks-stronger-furniture-craft-industry-to-boost-value",
        "published": "2026-10-17T04:32:11.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}