President John Dramani Mahama has proposed fast-track legal process to ensure swift prosecution and imprisonment of public officials found guilty of mismanaging state resources.
Speaking at the 12th Annual Conference of Chairpersons of Governing Boards and Chief Executives of Public Services in Ho on Wednesday, October 8, President Mahama expressed strong frustration over the repeated financial irregularities exposed by the Auditor-General’s reports each year.
He revealed that he will meet with key stakeholders to establish a concrete mechanism for accountability and deterrence.
“I have a meeting on Thursday with the Chief Justice, the Attorney General, and others to find a final solution to this Auditor General’s report,” Mahama said.
“Persons who are found guilty of infractions or do not follow due procedure or lead to loss of public resources — we must have a fast-track process to Nsawam. Before you see Nsawam, six months. Until we do that, until there’s a deterrent, we’re going to come every year and hear the same stories.”
The President lamented what he described as “recklessness with public funds and resources,” saying that the Public Accounts Committee hearings have become an annual ritual of embarrassment rather than a platform for reform.
“Why must we, every year, congregate at the Public Accounts Committee and hear all kinds of atrocious things? It’s so pathetic,” he said.
“Until we do that, until there’s a deterrent we’re going to come every year, and they say total misappropriation and infractions of a founder by the Auditor General is about 15 billion cedis, I mean, if we save 15 billion cedis, can you imagine what it could do?.”
President Mahama also disclosed plans to ensure effective implementation of Auditor-General’s recommendations, emphasizing that Audit Report Implementation Committees (ARICs) across ministries and agencies have failed to deliver results.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
