The Audit Service has denied issuing any apology for allegedly overstating Ghana’s total public debt by GH¢138.91 billion in its 2024 Auditor-General’s report.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, July 24, 2025, the Service said its attention had been drawn to a publication by Ghana Today circulating on social media, which falsely claimed: “We overstated Ghana’s total public debt by GH¢138.9 billion in our 2024 report. We apologise for this oversight – Auditor-General.”
According to the Audit Service, the publication misrepresents a section of the Auditor-General’s 2024 Report on the Public Accounts of Ghana, specifically pages 4 to 5 (paragraphs 13–18), which highlights discrepancies in public debt figures reported by the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) and the Ministry of Finance.
“The Office of the Auditor-General states that there has not been any such apology or statement by the Office regarding information published in our reports,” the statement said.
The report in question had noted an overstatement of public debt amounting to GH¢138.91 billion. It cited that the Whole of Government Accounts recorded total public debt of GH¢1,087.61 billion, whereas records from the Ministry of Finance indicated a lower figure of GH¢1,473.72 billion—resulting in the reported overstatement.
However, the Audit Service emphasised that this was part of its regular audit findings and not an error by the Auditor-General that warranted an apology.
“The information stated by Ghana Today is inaccurate and should be viewed by all well-meaning Ghanaians and stakeholders as mischievous,” the statement concluded.
The statement urged all individuals intending to republish the reports to exercise due diligence and ensure they present verified facts and figures before making any publication.
“We urge all persons who intend to make a re-publication of our reports to be meticulous and serve their clients with verified facts and figures before any publication.
“Finally, we remind the general public that all reports of the Auditor-General have been duly submitted to Parliament in accordance with Article 187 (5) of the 1992 Constitution and published on the website of Audit Service (www.auditgov.gh).”
Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, Abena Osei-Asare, on July 22, described the recent GH¢138.91 billion overstatement in Ghana’s public debt as revealed in the 2024 Audit Report as “no ordinary mistake” that warrants urgent scrutiny.
According to the report, while the Controller and Accountant-General reported Ghana’s total public debt as GH¢876.01 billion, the Ministry of Finance recorded a significantly lower figure of GH¢737.17 billion.
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