The Finance Minister-designate, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has revealed that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government will establish an Independent Value for Money Office.
The outfit, he has explained, will help cut waste in the public sector.
The Ajumako Enyan Essiam MP and Majority Leader disclosed this when he appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament on January 13, 2025.
“No one can convince me that our budgets have no waste. The waste benefits only a select few. Its unintended consequences affect all of us as a nation. It ends up breeding fiscal indiscipline, high budget deficits, and, in the end, the outcome is haircut,” he said.
He explained that the Office will work with Parliament to check government expenditure and prevent overspending.
“Some of the things we will do from the expenditure side are the establishment of the Independent Value for Money Office so that Parliament will be able to set up a ceiling for government contracts that must go through independent value-for-money analysis,” he noted.
The Finance Minister-designate pledged the commitment of the government to improve the ratio of domestic revenue to GDP to 18 percent from the current 12 to 14 percent.
In a related development, he asserted that there is no need to introduce new taxes when financial waste in the public sector is not removed.
“Why are we always talking about revenue? We must also look at the expenditure and cut the waste.”
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