Executive Director of Global InfoAnalytics, Mussa Dankwah, has weighed in on the ongoing tension between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture over 2026 budget releases, arguing that the controversy is being misinterpreted as deliberate withholding of funds.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue, He explained that under Ghana’s public financial management system, the approval of a budget by Parliament does not translate into the immediate or full release of funds to ministries, stressing that government budgeting operates in structured stages.
“I’m a finance person and I know government works in the way government works,” he said, noting that several ministries often raise similar concerns about delays in releases.
According to him, it is misleading to assume that the Finance Ministry arbitrarily withholds funds from sector ministries, adding that the system is governed by clear administrative and financial controls rather than discretionary distribution.
“You will not get the entire budget released to you,” he explained, adding that government spending follows established processes that include authorisation mechanisms before actual cash disbursement is made.
Mussa Dankwah further clarified the distinction between budget commitment and actual cash release, explaining that ministries may be granted approval to enter into contracts and commit government expenditure, even before cash is physically released to settle those obligations.
“When that comes to you and you go into procurement and that is approved, you start procuring. The release of the money comes later,” he stated.
He added that released funds are typically managed through central control systems and are dependent on government revenue inflows, meaning disbursements are not immediate even after approval.
Mussa Dankwah cautioned against framing the Finance Ministry as deliberately obstructing other ministries, including Agriculture, insisting that such interpretations distort how public financial management actually works.
He further warned that internal disagreements between ministries risk being politicised and misunderstood by the public if not properly contextualised.
His comments come amid public debate over conflicting claims by the Ministries of Finance and Food and Agriculture regarding how much of the 2026 budget has been released for agricultural programmes, including fertiliser distribution, poultry projects, irrigation, and farmer support initiatives.
The Finance Ministry has maintained that significant portions of the approved budget i.e GH¢1.67 billion have been released, while the Agriculture Ministry insists that actual funds received fall short of what has been publicly communicated.
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