Corrupt appointees during my administration and previous administration will be held accountable – Mahama

In the event that he is reelected, National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer and former president John Dramani Mahama has promised to spearhead a fresh campaign fight against corruption.

According to him, the new strategy entailed holding “corrupt officials” from the previous administration as well as appointments from his incoming administration who engaged in corrupt practices accountable.

“The norm has been that it is only the past governments that you hold accountable for any act of corruption, but we will ensure that those in our government who also indulged in corruption will be held accountable, and so we won’t go witch-hunting the past government,” he said.

“If people have been involved in malfeasance they must be held to account and if people in our administration also follow the same path they must also be held to account. It is only that way we will be able to get a hand-on on the canker of corruption.”

This was stated by Mr. Mahama at his Monday meeting in Accra with representatives of the Christian Ecumenical Councils as part of his “Building the Ghana We Want” engagements.

The National Council of Charismatic and Christian Churches, the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, and the Christian Council of Ghana are examples of Christian ecumenical councils.

Mr Mahama said that corruption has permeated Ghana’s society and stunted the country’s growth as individuals in positions of power have covered and protected those who commit corrupt acts.

Because of this, the effects of several instances of financial misconduct, such as stealing, inflicting financial loss, granting sole source contracts, and leaving sponsored projects unfinished, have supplanted the exception as the standard.

In an effort to combat the canker, Mr. Mahama declared that the incoming NDC government would hold dishonest appointees under his leadership accountable and establish new benchmarks in the fight against corruption.

“I make a firm promise to you my Christian fathers that the administration that I will lead will set a new standard in the fight against corruption,” he said.

“We will fight the canker of corruption and defeat it. We will retrieve stolen monies and hold people accountable, but we are not going to pursue regime accountability.”

In order to provide Ghanaians with better services, Mr. Mahama promised to work closely with the church in all spheres of the economy, particularly in the areas of health, education, and the economy.

Regarding education, for example, the former President pledged to increase church involvement in school administration to guarantee the smooth operation of these establishments.

He argued that since the past demonstrated that schools founded and run by churches fared better, cooperation between the church and the state was necessary to ensure that every student received a top-notch education.

“In the interim, we are proposing that in future, we increase the influence of churches in the management of the schools and so one of the areas we are looking at is to ensure that the chairman of the governing board of the school is a member of the church that established the school,” he indicated.

Regarding health, Mr. Mahama stated that the incoming NDC government would help mission-run hospitals more, notably by building out their facilities to make them more functional and efficient.

The former President stated that his administration would encourage churches to engage in the economy in sectors including garments and textiles, agriculture, and agribusiness in order to reduce the rising youth unemployment rate by creating jobs.

He urged clergy members to oppose any measures that would lead to instability in the 2024 election.

In an interview with the media on the sidelines of the meeting, Archbishop Nicholas Duncan Williams, the General Overseer of Action Chapel International’s United Denominations, counseled the youth to vote based on “conscience and convictions and not by emotions” in order to keep the peace.