In the most significant overhaul of state spending in a generation, the Government of Ghana has signed a Service Level Agreement (SLA) to officially mandate electronic payments across the entire public sector. The move effectively integrates the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement System (GHIPSS) with the Ghana Integrated Financial
Management Information System (GIFMIS), creating a "traceable, modern, and controlled" financial ecosystem.
Signed today in Accra, the agreement establishes the GHIPSS platform as the sole authorized channel for all payments by "Covered Entities," including Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and all 261 Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
1. Technical Integration: The GHIPSS-GIFMIS Bridge
The reform is more than a policy change; it is a technical merger of two massive platforms to ensure that no cedi leaves the state coffers without a digital footprint.
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GIFMIS (The Brain): Manages budget allocations and commitment controls.
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GHIPSS (The Muscle): Executes the actual Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to suppliers and third-party banks.
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The Result: A secure, interoperable system that eliminates the "time lag" between raising an Internal Purchase Order (IPO) and the final payment.
2. The Death of the Manual Cheque
Controller and Accountant-General Mr. Kwasi Agyei was blunt about the limitations of the old system, describing manual cheques as "outdated, slow, and prone to misuse."
The Shift in PFM Strategy: | Old System (Manual) | New System (Digital) | | :--- | :--- | | Difficult to reconcile | Fully auditable digital footprint | | Prone to leakages and corruption | Enhanced transparency and oversight | | Slow processing times | Near-instantaneous transfers | | Vulnerable to unbudgeted spending | Real-time commitment monitoring |
Deputy Finance Minister Mr. Thomas Ampem Nyarko revealed that Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson intends to formally declare the total withdrawal of all manual cheques in the next budget presentation, with the goal of 100% digitization by the end of 2026.
3. Commitment Control: Saving 1 Billion Cedis
The reform builds on recent amendments to the Public Financial Management Act, which now require MDAs to obtain explicit approval from the Finance Minister before committing to any major expenditure.
Mr. Nyarko highlighted the real-world impact of these "digital guardrails":
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The 1 Billion Cedi Block: Last year, the system’s commitment control mechanism successfully blocked the unauthorized purchase of over one billion Ghana cedis worth of vehicles by ensuring procurements stayed within strictly defined budgets.
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Liquidity Management: The new system allows the government to monitor commitments in real-time, which is a critical pillar of the current fiscal consolidation program.
4. Implementation: A "Gradual but Firm" Rollout
The Head of Civil Service, Mr. Aggrey Darko, described the new system as a "safety valve" for public workers, protecting them from the pressures of irregular financial management.
The Rollout Schedule:
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Week 1: Initial pilot agencies begin the transition.
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Phase 2: Successive weekly onboarding of MDAs and MMDAs.
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Training: Structured change management and technical training provided to all public sector accountants.
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Enforcement: Automatic withdrawal of manual cheque facilities as agencies are onboarded.
The Bottom Line
This SLA signing represents a "Governance Reset." By integrating GHIPSS and GIFMIS, the government is making it technically impossible to spend money that hasn't been budgeted or approved. For the Ghanaian taxpayer, this means more accountability; for the civil servant, it means a more efficient workflow; and for the state, it marks the end of the "cheque-in-the-mail" era.
