Accountability in the Akufo-Addo administration is uncommon – Apaak

Dr. Clement Apaak, a member of Ghana’s Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), has stated that honest and truthful leadership has eluded Ghana under the Akufo-Addo administration.

The Builsa South legislator is dissatisfied with how the government has exploited constitutional flaws and Parliament’s operating procedures to avoid accountability.

“Sometimes the way Parliament works can be a bit frustrating because there are certain issues and instances that will require immediate action or response, but the structures and interphase between the Executive and Legislature creates opportunities for circumventions and sometimes delays,” Dr. Clement Apaak said on 3FM’s Sunrise show with host Alfred Ocansey.

He stated that several questions had been submitted to sector ministers, including the Minister of Finance, but that no responses had been provided.

He singled out Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta as the worst offender.

Ken Ofori, he claims, is the minister who has refused to appear before Parliament to answer questions more than any other.

“Before we rose, the Minister of Finance was scheduled to appear before Parliament to answer seventeen (17) questions, some of which had been filed as far back as June 2021.” He failed to appear, and on the same day he chose to address the press on measures the NPP government is putting in place to address the country’s current economic distress, when he was supposed to be in Parliament,” he stated.

“I wish we could ask President Nana Akuffo-Ado why he has made accountability so difficult to achieve because he campaigned on the promise of running a transparent and accountable government; yet accountability has become a scarce commodity in almost every sector under the Akufo-Ado Bawumia administration,” he added.

He also stated that all efforts, from committee to plenary, to motion, to obtain accountability for COVID 19-related expenditure have been futile, whereas inconsistencies in figures churned out by government officials demonstrate how dishonest this NPP government is with public funds.