According to him, President Akufo-Addo and his government have failed the test of true commitment to fighting corruption in the public sector, as he is unable to prosecute his appointees who are caught in corruption scandals.
Addressing NDC delegates at the 9th delegates conference in Accra to elect new national executives, John Mahama said the NDC had a better record in terms of accountability in governance than the NPP.
“In the fight against corruption, the NDC has a better record in terms of regime accountability. The NPP has proven in government that it is always reluctant to pursue their own, despite the swirling stench of corruption around their administration. All Ghanaians have received so far, is lip service in the fight against corruption,” Mahama indicated.
“Most appallingly, the president has become a clearing house for clearing his appointees accused of corruption. He has on several occasions cleared his ministers and appointees when allegations of corruption have been made against them,” Mahama added.
John Mahama also accused President Akufo-Addo of peddling falsehood at a global event by claiming that all his appointees who were accused of various corruption scandals had been independently investigated and cleared of any wrongdoing.
“It was a very low day for Ghana when the president peddled a falsehood on a panel at the recent Africa investment forum that all allegations of corruption made against people in his administration have been investigated and cleared by independent investigative bodies,” John Mahama said.
President Akufo-Addo, while speaking at the Africa Investment Forum organized by the African Development Bank, in Johannesburg, South Africa, said there had been no strong evidence so far against his appointees accused of corruption.
“…If members of my administration are indulging in corrupt acts, any time an allegation is made, I have seen to it that it is investigated…so far, investigations have not yielded any evidence (of appointees indulging in corruption), but it is important that it is known that people of my administration will be subject to scrutiny if they go off schedule,” Akufo-Addo said.
His comment was criticized by Ghanaians including the opposition NDC, who insist that the government has failed to make reports of the supposed investigative bodies public, confirming speculations that the government did not seriously investigate allegations of corruption against government appointees.
Corruption allegations within NPP government
Although the NPP government has been in power for barely 24 months, the government has not been spared from accusations of corruption among its top officials.
Recent scandals include the use of about $1 million by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Maritime Authority to renovate a two bed-room house.
Other allegations that were experienced at the early stage of the NPP government was the diversion of premix fuel, the sale of contaminated fuel by the Bulk Oil Storage and Transport (BOST) Company, and the accusation of corruption leveled against two deputy chiefs of staff by a sympathizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame A-Plus, appear to have smeared the government’s image already.
Despite these developments, President Akufo-Addo says none of them have proven his appointees guilty.
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