Pressure group OccupyGhana has urged the government to move beyond rhetoric and take decisive action to enforce the findings of the Auditor-General’s reports, following a high-level meeting convened by President John Dramani Mahama earlier this week.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Wednesday, the civic group welcomed the President’s meeting with the Chief Justice, the Attorney-General, and the Auditor-General but cautioned that it must not end up as “publicity and short on results.”
OccupyGhana reiterated its long-standing demand for the Auditor-General to resume disallowance and surcharge actions against public officials implicated in financial irregularities, as well as for the Attorney-General to prosecute offenders — in strict compliance with the 2017 Supreme Court ruling that affirmed these constitutional duties.
“Every single day that the Auditor-General and Attorney-General fail to act is a continuing breach of the Constitution. The law does not need to be ‘strengthened’; it simply needs to be obeyed,” the group stressed.
President Mahama’s meeting on Monday focused on improving the enforcement of the Auditor-General’s reports and establishing special courts to handle cases of financial misconduct within the public sector.
OccupyGhana cited the tenure of former Auditor-General Daniel Yaw Domelevo as proof that the system works when enforced, recalling that between 2017 and 2018, his office issued 112 surcharge certificates, earning commendation from the World Bank for active recovery of misappropriated funds.
“When enforced, it worked,” the group said pointedly, adding that progress had since stalled. “No known disallowances or surcharges have been made, and no funds have been recovered,” the statement lamented.
According to the group, the failure of successive Auditors-General to exercise their constitutional powers, coupled with inaction from the Attorney-General, has effectively rendered the 2017 Supreme Court judgment meaningless.
OccupyGhana therefore warned that the outcome of the President’s meeting would be “meaningless unless it leads to concrete action,” accusing government officials of staging “photo opportunities presented as reform.”
“Ghana deserves institutions that act, not officials who only announce intentions,” the statement concluded. “Ghanaians deserve accountability, not publicity.”
