We’ve inherited a mess, but we’re fixing It with Bold reforms – Adongo

Isaac Adongo is the MP for Bolgatanga Central. He is also a board member of the Bank of Ghana. He recently discussed Ghana’s fourth review with the IMF. He believes there are positive signs, but recovery will take time.

“The IMF is comfortable with our trajectory,” he said. “We’ve met critical benchmarks and introduced bold reforms.” He expects the next tranche in June.

Adongo noted that the current government inherited a significant arrears crisis. Previously undisclosed commitments have increased public debt.

“We discovered over 45 billion in arrears—more than what the IMF assumed,” he explained. “One agency alone had commitments over 21 billion without financial clearance.”

To tackle this issue, Adongo mentioned changes to the Public Procurement Act. The PPA can now deny procurement approvals without proper financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance.

“We now have a procurement policeman,” he stated. “If you show up without clearance, you’re turned away.” This helps control expenditure.

He also mentioned reforms at state institutions like ECG. They can no longer make purchases without ministerial approval, even when using their own funds.

Adongo hinted at possible changes to audit procedures for state-owned enterprises. “We’re asking how ECG’s auditors missed major risks in operations,” he said. “We can’t afford rubber-stamp audits anymore.”

For Adongo, these policy changes improve accountability and control across all sectors. “We are finally plugging the loopholes and managing the country with discipline,” he concluded.