President Nana Akufo-Addo’s promise to protect the public purse has become an “illusion”, the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference has observed.
Its president, Most Rev. Philip Naameh, at this year’s plenary assembly of the association in Wa, capital of the Upper West Region, said: “Though poverty stares us in the face, it appears lost to those with power”.
“The expressed commitment of the president of the republic to protect the public purse – a promise that citizens welcomed – seems to be an illusion now”, Most Rev. Philip Naameh noted.
He wondered: “Are those managing the public purse not concerned about [the] waste and misapplication of resources that belong to all Ghanaians?”
“Can this be referred to as irresponsible use of power or the lack of compassion and empathy?” he asked.
The cleric said, “those who are entrusted with power that comes from our collective will must know that what they do with that, shapes what we all will become in the future”.
A post-election report by the Centre for Democratic Development-Ghana’s Afrobarometer in August 2021 said while Ghanaians are split in their opinion on the Akufo-Addo government’s ability to ensure that rule of law is upheld, the majority (62 per cent), however, are not confident in the ability of the president and his government to protect the country’s financial resources and curb corruption in the next four years.
Meanwhile, President Nana Akufo-Addo said in May this year that his government has achieved a lot in terms of fighting corruption.
In an interview with CNN on Monday, 3 May 2021, President Akufo-Addo said he was content with the progress he has made so far since, in his view, Ghana’s anti-corruption ranking has “gone up several notches.”
“Am I satisfied that we’ve been effective? I will say yes”, the President answered a direct question.
“A lot has been done, and it is reflected in Ghana’s growing position and rankings of corruption in the world”, he noted.
“We’ve gone up several notches since I came into office because we are dealing with these matters at the basic level,” explained the President.
According to him, Ghana’s anti-corruption institutions “were very poorly resourced” prior to his assumption of office.
“We can talk all we like about corruption and make all the wonderful statements but if the instruments at your disposal for dealing with it are weak and blunt, you will get no result,” Mr Akufo-Addo noted.
Concerning the forcing out of Auditor-General Daniel Domelevo, the President said: “There’s a time for retiring which is prescribed by statute, not my making”.
“If you are 60 years old, you are no longer supposed to be able to work in the public service”, the public said, adding: “The Auditor-General, like me, should be some of the first to recognise the laws in our country”.
