President John Dramani Mahama has announced plans to convene a high-level meeting on Thursday, October 9, with the Chief Justice, the Attorney General, and other key justice sector stakeholders to formulate a clear strategy for addressing the persistent mismanagement of public funds.
Speaking at the 12th Annual Conference of Chairpersons of Governing Boards and Councils, Chief Directors, and Chief Executives of the Public Services Commission of Ghana in Ho, Mr Mahama expressed deep concern over the recurring financial infractions exposed by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the lack of accountability that follows.
“Recently, I’ve been watching the Public Accounts Committee, and it’s so pathetic,” he lamented. “Why must we, every year, congregate at PAC and hear all kinds of atrocious things — recklessness with public funds and resources?”
The President stressed the need for a more decisive approach to deter public officials who misuse state funds, calling for what he described as a “fast-track process to Nsawam”, a reference to the country’s main correctional facility.
“Until we do that, until there’s a deterrent, we’ll continue to come every year and talk about total misappropriation and infractions,” he said, referencing an estimated GH¢15 billion in losses revealed in recent audit reports. “Can you imagine what 15 billion cedis could do for this country?”
Mr Mahama also criticised the failure to enforce constitutional provisions that require Parliament to implement the Auditor-General’s findings, noting that the process remains unclear and largely ineffective.
“There’s a provision that says after the Public Accounts Committee has sat on the Auditor-General’s report, Parliament must set up a committee to implement the findings. But we don’t even know if it should be a parliamentary committee or a separate one,” he observed.
He further condemned the ineffectiveness of Audit Report Implementation Committees (ARICs) within government departments, pointing out that most fail to act on PAC’s recommendations.
“Virtually nobody follows up on what recommendations were given. The ARICs are not working,” he said.
President Mahama emphasised the urgency of establishing a credible accountability system that ensures real consequences for public officials who mismanage or misuse public resources.
“We must find a way to create a deterrent until people know that they can be held responsible for their actions. If not, they’ll continue to do the same things,” he warned.
He assured that the outcome of Thursday’s meeting would lead to tangible reforms, including clear legal mechanisms to hold offenders accountable and end the culture of impunity in public office.
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