Corruption and Accountability

Corruption is a major impediment to development in Ghana.  Often, though not always, officials engage in corruption by misspending pubic funds.  I just wrote an article for work that sheds some light on the problem of accountability in government:

Albert Kan-Dapaah, chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), has expressed disappointment in the limits on his agency’s ability to ensure accountability in the expenditure of public funds. 

During his Thursday interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, he mentioned his desire for more civil society interest and involvement in matters of public accountability.  He commended public policy think tank IMANI for the attention it has paid the PAC’s activities but said that the committee could be much more effective if more groups get involved.

Kan-Dapaah also lamented flaws in several checks and balances that he considers crucial to securing accountability in the public budget. 

First, he said, when an annual budget comes before parliament, the legislature should engage in a bipartisan debate to vet the budget and see that it serves the nation’s interest to the highest possible degree.  The reality, he reported, is that the debate takes place along strict partisan lines and that political interests tend to overshadow national ones, effectively neutralizing this important check. 

Second, he said, ministers are responsible for issuing annual reports that account for all ministry spending, but for years most ministers have failed to produce comprehensive reports.  He did not offer a concrete explanation for why this is the case.

Finally, he explained that once all these reports are submitted, an independent auditor general reviews them and produces a report that he submits to the PAC.  The PAC examines this report, paying special attention to any accounting irregularities, and issues its own report that goes to Parliament for debate. 

Parliament sends its findings to the Audit Report Implementation Committee, tasked with pursuing legal action against those accused of fiscal wrongdoing in the reports.  Much to Kan-Dapaah’s chagrin, its members include the key figures in ministries that stand accused of wrongdoing.

Kan-Dapaah alluded to efforts to establish a parliamentary committee to take over this responsibility and eliminate the conflict of interest, but in the meantime he says that ministers suspected of fiscal malfeasance rarely take themselves to court.