Global InfoAnalytics Boss Clarifies Finance–Agric Budget Tensions: “It’s Not Withholding of Funds”
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, parliamentary approval of a budget does not translate into the immediate or full release of funds to ministries. He stressed that government budgeting operates through structured stages and controlled processes.
“I’m a finance person and I know how government works,” he said, noting that several ministries routinely 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. He emphasised that the system is governed by clear administrative and financial controls, not discretionary decisions.
“You will not get the entire budget released to you,” he explained, adding that government spending follows established authorisation mechanisms before actual cash disbursement is made.
Dankwah further clarified the distinction between budget commitment and actual cash release, explaining that ministries may receive 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 said.
He added that released funds are typically managed through central control systems and depend on government revenue inflows, meaning disbursements are not always immediate even after approval.
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 warned that internal disagreements 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 maintains that significant portions of the approved budget—GH¢1.67 billion—have been released, while the Agriculture Ministry insists that actual funds received fall short of what has been publicly communicated.
— CitiNewsRoom