Ghana’s tax collector, its premier teaching hospital, its fire service, and its disaster management organisation are among the worst performers in the country’s first ever Public Financial Management (PFM) Compliance League Table, a ranking of 101 public institutions that reveals deep contradictions between the mandates of some of the country’s most prominent agencies and how they manage their own finances.
The full rankings, released by the Ministry of Finance on March 19 under the PFM Act, 2016 (Act 921), place institutions into four tiers highly compliant, compliant, moderately compliant, and least compliant based on their adherence to budgeting, spending, recording, reporting, and auditing requirements.
At the top, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) leads a highly compliant group that also includes the Tema Oil Refinery, the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, the Ghana National Petroleum Commission, the Ministry of Finance itself, the Ghana AIDS Commission, and the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation.
At the bottom, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) the institution responsible for enforcing financial compliance among businesses and individuals ranks 93rd out of 101. The National Communications Authority (NCA), which regulates a critical sector of the economy, ranks 101st and last. Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana’s flagship referral facility, ranks 89th. The Ghana National Fire Service ranks 99th, and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) ranks 100th institutions whose operational effectiveness depends directly on the financial discipline the table measures.
The University of Ghana, the country’s oldest and most prominent university, ranks 90th, placing it among the least financially disciplined institutions in the public sector. The Financial Intelligence Centre, which is mandated to detect and prevent money laundering, ranks 88th. The Ministry of Education headquarters ranks 97th.
Several findings in the moderately compliant tier are equally striking. The Ghana Audit Service, whose entire mandate is to scrutinise the financial management of others, ranks 82nd just outside the least compliant category. The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, which paid GH¢329.34 million in dividends in 2025 and was commended by government only this week, ranks 72nd. The Ghana Health Service ranks 73rd.
Among the compliant institutions, notable performers include the Ghana Police Service at 35th, the National Identification Authority at 42nd, the Cybersecurity Authority at 55th, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department at 54th, and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) at 14th.
The Ministry of Finance has said the goal of the exercise is reform rather than reputational damage, with plans to engage low-performing institutions to identify gaps and implement corrective measures. However, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has made clear that persistent non-compliance will attract stricter enforcement, and Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem warned this week that public enterprises that fail to meet governance and financial management standards face dissolution.
For citizens, the rankings translate directly into service delivery questions. An undisciplined fire service faces resource allocation failures in emergencies. A poorly managed hospital struggles to maintain equipment and staffing levels. A tax authority that cannot manage its own finances sends an uncomfortable signal about the standards it applies to others.