The Progressive Policy Institute, Ghana (PPI), warmly congratulates Dr Abdul-Baasit Aziz-Bamba on his appointment as Acting Director-General of the Value for Money Office.

Dr Aziz-Bamba's appointment comes at a particularly important moment in Ghana's public financial management journey. The Value for Money Office has been established to strengthen scrutiny of public expenditure and ensure that public spending delivers tangible benefits to citizens. He will serve in an acting capacity pending the Governing Board's constitutionally required advice, in consultation with the Public Services Commission.

PPI believes that Dr Aziz-Bamba's academic and professional background makes him well suited for this important responsibility. As a Harvard-trained lawyer and former Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana School of Law, he brings a combination of legal knowledge, academic experience and analytical capacity to an institution whose credibility will depend heavily on competence, independence and evidence-based decision-making.

We therefore encourage him to discharge this responsibility without fear or favour.

The success of the Value for Money Office must not depend on which political party is in government, who authorised a contract or which institution is involved. The same standards must apply to every government, every public institution, every contractor and every major expenditure decision.

For too long, the national conversation on public expenditure has sometimes focused on how much government spent rather than what the country actually received in return. Value for money must go beyond checking whether procedures were followed. It must ask whether the price was reasonable, whether the contract was properly managed, whether the work was delivered, whether the asset is functioning, whether maintenance obligations are being met and, ultimately, whether citizens are receiving the intended benefit.

PPI believes that the central question should be:

This requires stronger attention to procurement costs, contract variations, delays, abandoned projects, contractor performance, lifecycle costs and the functionality of completed projects.

The Value for Money Office should also embrace modern data analytics, benchmarking, technical expertise and transparent reporting while maintaining fairness and due process. A red flag should trigger an investigation, not automatically become an accusation of corruption.

PPI stands ready, as a research-driven civil society organisation, to support evidence-based efforts to strengthen public expenditure accountability. We believe civil society, Parliament, the media, academia and citizens all have important roles to play in ensuring that the Office succeeds.

Dr Aziz-Bamba has been entrusted with an important national responsibility. We wish him wisdom, courage, independence and success.

Ghana does not simply need more public spending. Ghana needs public spending that delivers public value.

PPI Ghana congratulates Dr Abdul-Baasit Aziz-Bamba and wishes him a successful tenure.

Every cedi of public money must work for the public good.