The Ministry of Finance has cautioned that all Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) operating outside the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) risk having their accounts frozen.

The move is part of government’s intensified crackdown on financial mismanagement, particularly the misappropriation of public funds by local authorities and other state institutions.

The Auditor-General’s report has highlighted a disturbing surge in payroll fraud, rising from GH₵14 million in 2023 to GH₵57 million in 2024. Analysts have linked this increase to inadequate expenditure monitoring at the local government level.

Addressing the Public Accounts Committee, Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem disclosed that the ministry has started engaging assemblies and will impose sanctions on any that fail to comply.

“Especially those using their IGFs, they are the main culprits now. We want to give them the benefit of the doubt,” he said.

He revealed that the ministry, in collaboration with the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department, will soon meet with the assemblies to set strict compliance timelines.

“After a certain time within this year, you will not be able to spend your money if you are not operating within the government system,” Mr. Ampem warned.

He assured, however, that the government would ensure the transition does not disrupt essential public services.

“We don’t want government services to suffer or the citizenry to be denied access. But very soon, we will announce the timelines, and after that, no manual transactions will be allowed outside GIFMIS,” he stressed.