Ghana’s Interior Ministry tops government performance index as Trade Ministry ranks last

A new assessment of 23 government ministries in Ghana has ranked the Ministry of the Interior first for institutional performance, while the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry placed last, highlighting concerns over public service delivery, workforce efficiency and financial management.

The Index of Government Institutions’ Performance Towards Economic Prosperity (IGIPTEP), developed by the Africa Centre for Entrepreneurship and Youth Empowerment (ACEYE) in partnership with Atlas Network, assesses how effectively government institutions operate and contribute to economic prosperity.

The assessment found that 21 of the 23 ministries scored above 50%, while two fell below that threshold.

The Ministry of the Interior recorded the highest score of 80.26%, placing it in the index’s very high performance category. The Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry ranked 23rd with 48.08%, narrowly below the Ministry of Transport, which scored 49.6%.

Service delivery and accountability under scrutiny

The index examines five areas of institutional performance: service delivery quality, money management, transparency and accountability, people and work efficiency, and public engagement and inclusion.

It draws on secondary research, including institutional websites, annual reports, archived publications and online media coverage. The researchers organised and coded the information, compared findings across sources and quantified the results to assess institutional performance.

Inspired by the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World index in Canada, IGIPTEP seeks to apply international assessment principles to Ghana’s governance environment.

The findings offer a comparative picture of how ministries perform across key governance indicators, although the assessment relies on available documentary evidence rather than a direct measurement of every aspect of service delivery.

The Ministry of the Interior emerged as the strongest performer, scoring 80.26%.

It was followed by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, with 72.8%, and the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, which scored 66.02%.

The Ministry of Education placed fourth with 65.42%, while the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources came fifth with 64.82%.

The Ministry of Health ranked sixth, scoring 64.15%.

The Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, the Ministry of Roads and Highways, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also featured among the top 10.

The results suggest considerable variation in the performance of institutions responsible for delivering public services and implementing government policies.

Transport Ministry faces workforce efficiency concerns

The Ministry of Transport ranked 22nd, scoring 49.6%.

Its assessment identified several areas of progress, including port dredging, efforts to clear container backlogs, the addition of buses, developments in rail infrastructure and the expansion of licensing services.

The ministry was also credited with an air passenger grievance portal and the publication of a Right to Information manual.

However, the report raised concerns about transparency and workforce efficiency.

The ministry scored 40% for transparency and accountability and just 24% for people and work efficiency. Its strongest indicator scores were in money management, at 66.67%, and service delivery quality, at 64%.

The assessment pointed to documentation issues highlighted by the Auditor-General and the Public Accounts Committee, alongside gaps in published audit and budget execution reports.

It also identified limited publicly available information on staff training and continuing concerns about transport fares and congestion in Accra.

The findings indicate that improvements in infrastructure and services do not necessarily translate into strong overall institutional performance when workforce capacity and public accountability remain weak.

The Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry ranked last, with a score of 48.08%.

Its strongest area was transparency and accountability, where it scored 70%. It recorded 53.33% for public engagement and inclusion, but performed poorly in service delivery quality and money management, scoring 46.4% and 46.67%, respectively.

Like the Transport Ministry, it scored 24% for people and work efficiency.

The assessment recognised the ministry's acknowledgement of trade-related delays, the development of reform plans and an extension of the export revenue repatriation period from 60 to 120 days.

It also cited the ministry's participation in the Government Accountability Series and engagement with exporters.

However, persistent port clearance delays were identified as a source of additional costs for traders. The report also raised concerns about loan monitoring under the Rural Enterprises Programme, broken links to documents on the ministry's website, the absence of formal complaint channels and gaps in publicly available workforce and training information.

The findings point to a gap between policy initiatives and the efficiency with which services are delivered to businesses and the wider trading community.

Finance Ministry records a mid-table result

The Ministry of Finance scored 58.16%, placing 15th among the 23 institutions assessed.

It fell within the index's acceptable performance category, alongside several ministries responsible for employment, agriculture, energy, defence and other key sectors.

The Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology ranked 12th with 59.99%, while the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice placed 13th with 59.67%.

At the lower end of the acceptable category, the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition scored 51.06%, placing 21st.

The spread of scores shows that most ministries crossed the 50% threshold, but relatively few approached the performance level achieved by the Ministry of the Interior.

ACEYE and Atlas Network say the next phase will involve stakeholder dialogues and the co-development of policy recommendations.

Such discussions could provide an opportunity for ministries, civil society groups, businesses and other stakeholders to examine the findings and identify practical reforms.

The index places particular emphasis on public access to information, responsible management of public funds, staff productivity and the role citizens play in shaping government decisions.

For Ghana, the central challenge is whether comparative assessments such as IGIPTEP can help translate concerns about institutional performance into measurable improvements in public services and the business environment.

While the rankings provide a snapshot of the 23 ministries examined, their longer-term value will depend on how the findings are scrutinised, how institutions respond and whether subsequent assessments show tangible progress.