The Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, has announced that the government has paid GH¢24.8 billion to statutory funds since January 2026. 

The funds went into the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the Road Maintenance Trust Fund and the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) to support schools, healthcare, roads and local development.

The rest are the Free Senior High School Programme, the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, the Mineral Development Fund (MDF) and the Mineral Income Investment Fund (MIIF).

Dr Forson said the payments reflected a departure from the delays, capping and arrears that previously affected the release of statutory funds. 

“Unlike in the past, when payments were marked by delays, capping and arrears, we now release these funds on time and in full,” the Finance Minister said.

“This ensures statutory funds have the money they need to provide the essential services required by law,” he added.

The announcement follows the release of the third-quarter statutory funds for 2026.

The payments support services that directly affect the daily lives of Ghanaians, while allowing the institutions responsible to plan and carry out their work.Read Newspapers

The previous government capped selected statutory funds as part of efforts to release more revenue into government coffers to direct them to multiple areas and not specific sectors.

Under the Earmarked Funds Capping and Realignment Act, 2017 (Act 947), the government placed a ceiling on transfers to statutory funds, limiting the amount they received from revenue collected for designated purposes.

Amounts above the applicable cap were redirected to support other budgetary priorities.

The arrangement was intended to provide the government with greater flexibility in managing public finances.

However, it attracted criticism from stakeholders who argued that restricting transfers affected the ability of statutory funds to finance their programmes, and to meet their obligations.

In  2025, the government announced measures to uncap the funds, including GETFund, the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and the Ghana Road Fund.

The policy is aimed at ensuring that allocations to the affected funds were made in accordance with the applicable statutory requirements.Ghana News Headlines

The funds support key areas of public service delivery. GETFund finances education-related infrastructure and other interventions, while the NHIF supports healthcare financing under the National Health Insurance Scheme.

The Road Fund provides resources for road maintenance and related activities.

Other statutory allocations support local development through DACF which provides resources to metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies for development projects and public services at the local level.

The government has also highlighted funding for the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme and the Ghana Medical Trust Fund as part of its support for education and healthcare.

The payment of statutory allocations is important because delays or shortfalls affect the implementation of planned projects, payments to service providers and the delivery of essential public services.