President John Dramani Mahama has expressed worry over the recurring financial irregularities revealed in the Auditor-General’s annual reports, describing the trend as alarming and unacceptable.

Speaking at the 12th Annual Governing Boards, Chief Directors and Executives Conference in Ho on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, President Mahama lamented the consistent rise in reported financial infractions and mismanagement of public funds over the years.

He described the Public Accounts Committee's sitting as pathetic citing the Auditor-General’s findings that public sector irregularities have now reached about GH¢15 billion.

“Recently I’ve been watching the Public Accounts Committee and it’s so pathetic. You know, why must we every year congregate at the Public Accounts Committee and then you hear all kinds of atrocious things with public funds and resources.

"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", he noted.

He stressed the need for immediate and severe sanctions against offenders, proposing a fast-track judicial process to punish individuals found guilty of misusing public funds.

“Persons who infract, 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. Fast track, before you see, you are in Nsawam for six months. Until we do that, until there’s deterrence, we’re going to come every year and they say total misappropriation and infractions found out by the Auditor-General is about GH¢15 billion,” he said.

President Mahama emphasised that recovering and saving such funds could significantly transform the country’s development agenda.

He also hinted at plans to fully implement constitutional provisions requiring Parliament to set up a committee to ensure the enforcement of the Auditor-General’s recommendations.

“There’s a part of the provision that says after the Public Accounts Committee has sat on the Auditor-General’s report, Parliament must set up a committee. What we don’t know is whether it should be a parliamentary committee or it’s a committee not necessarily made of parliamentarians to implement the findings of the Auditor-General,” he explained.

He further criticized the current mechanisms, particularly the Audit Report Implementation Committees (ARICs), describing them as ineffective.

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“Right now, what we use is the ARICs, and every department is supposed to set up an ARIC. But once they’ve come from the Public Accounts Committee, virtually nobody follows up on the recommendations that were given. And so the Audit Reports Implementation Committees are not working,” he lamented.

The President reiterating his commitment to enforcing accountability and deterrence in the public sector.

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“We must find a way where we are able to create deterrence. Until people know that you can be held responsible for these things that you do, they’ll continue to do the same thing. And so, after Thursday, I’m sure we’ll come up with some way where persons who are culpable of misusing the resources of the people will be held to account so that others do not follow suit,” he added.

Watch the video below:

President John Mahama is scheduled to hold a crunch meeting with the auditor general, chief justice and attorney general on a final determination of deterrent on losses recorded in the auditor general's report.

Over time, losses reported by the auditor general have increased… pic.twitter.com/nGzhGHoFjW

— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) October 8, 2025