Ghana’s security and emergency services have received mixed ratings in the country’s first Public Financial Management (PFM) Compliance League Table, with the Ghana Police Service posting a relatively stronger performance while the Ghana National Fire Service and the National Disaster Management Organisation ranked among the least compliant institutions.

The league table, released by the Ministry of Finance, assessed 101 public institutions based on their adherence to the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) and related financial regulations.

According to the report, the Ghana Police Service was ranked 35th, placing it within the “Compliant” band, while the Ghana Immigration Service ranked 60th, also within the compliant category but closer to the lower end of the scale.

In contrast, both the Ghana National Fire Service and NADMO were placed in the “Least Compliant” category, the lowest tier in the four-band ranking system, indicating significant gaps in their financial management practices.

Explaining the rationale behind the assessment, the Finance Ministry said the league table is intended to promote transparency and strengthen accountability across the public sector.

“The Ministry will engage covered entities that recorded low compliance scores and help them to identify gaps in their PFM compliance systems,” it said, adding that firm enforcement measures will be taken where improvements are not made.

The performance of the Fire Service and NADMO is expected to draw public scrutiny, given their critical frontline roles. NADMO is responsible for coordinating disaster response nationwide, while the Fire Service leads emergency response operations, both of which depend heavily on efficient use of public funds to function effectively.

The Ministry noted that its PFM Compliance Division will lead direct engagements with underperforming institutions as part of efforts to address the identified gaps and improve overall compliance levels across government agencies.