Ex-MP Hails Ato Forson’s ‘Common Sense’ Fiscal Reforms (Overspending, Borrowing Now Curbed)
Dr. Mark Assibey-Yeboah, former MP for New Juaben South, has praised Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson for implementing what he describes as “common-sensical” fiscal controls that are curbing overspending, unchecked borrowing, and the perennial accumulation of government arrears, stating in an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Channel One TV’s Face to Face on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, “There has been some common sensical things that are being done at Finance,” and highlighting the stricter enforcement of the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) which blocks ministries from initiating contracts outside approved allocations, explaining, “So if you sit at your ministry and try to award a contract, it will hit a roadblock in the GIFMIS so that we don’t build those arrears that we’ve routinely built,” while also commending improvements in procurement oversight through the Ghana Electronic Procurement System (GHANEPS), noting, “Procurement Authority also has something they call GHANEPS, that all procurement should go through the GHANEPS. I think that about 60% of government purchases go through it so far. It’s great if they can get everyone on board. “Then again, the Minister went to Parliament and passed a law that you need commitment authorization from him, every ministry, before you can start any contractual award.” And I’m telling you, it’s working great,” he said, adding that these steps deal with the root of Ghana’s financial problems. “So what he’s doing is making sure we don’t go over the budget you gave us.” When you spend too much, you have to borrow too much, which creates arrears. The next time you come into government, they say there is an arrears of 70 billion, and then we go full circle. They say that sustained enforcement could help break the country’s long-standing cycle of fiscal slippages and restore confidence in public financial management.
