Finance Ministry Gives MDAs Two Weeks to Secure 2026 Budget Authorisations
The Deputy Minister for Finance, Thomas Nyarko Ampem, has instructed all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to secure new Commitment Authorisations for all expenditures in 2026.
According to him, authorisations issued in 2025 have expired and are no longer valid for this year’s procurement activities.
Speaking to Chief Directors, Heads of Covered Entities and Chief Executives of Public Institutions during a meeting on the Modalities for Commitment Authorisation, Mr. Ampem emphasized that all spending must strictly adhere to approved budget limits.
The Deputy Minister announced a two-week turnaround period for the Ministry of Finance to process and approve Commitment Authorisation requests, provided all required documentation is correctly submitted.
To make the process more efficient, he directed that all requests be routed through the relevant Sector Ministers. However, to reduce bureaucratic delays, MDAs are also expected to submit copies directly to the Ministry of Finance, which will begin processing while awaiting formal referral.
Mr. Ampem further clarified that MDAs with ongoing projects, where contracts have been awarded but payments remain pending, must fully declare these obligations.
He noted that such commitments will be treated as a first charge on their 2026 budgets before any new expenditure is approved.
He explained that the Commitment Authorisation system was introduced to prevent public institutions from undertaking projects without approved budget allocations.
Highlighting past challenges, the Deputy Minister noted that significant financial commitments were often made without the Ministry of Finance’s knowledge, contributing to the country’s rising public debt.
“Enforcing these measures is crucial to curbing unauthorised spending and is part of a mandatory framework to restore budget discipline and ensure debt sustainability under Ghana’s IMF-supported programme. If the state had respected budget limits and committed funds only when available, we would not be in the financial situation we face today,” Mr. Ampem added.
