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Public Accounts Committee recommends the prosecution of those found liable in the Auditor General’s report
he Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), James Klutse Avedzi, says they are bent on recommending to the Attorney General for the prosecution of individuals and institutions indicted by the Auditor General’s report.
According to him, this has become necessary because their previous advice to culprits to go back and rectify the wrongs fell on deaf ears, especially in procurement breaches.
He was speaking at the committee’s sitting on the Auditor General’s report for 2018 in Sunyani in the Bono Region.
Some heads and accountants of pre-tertiary and tertiary educational institutions in the Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, and Ashanti regions, are appearing and answering queries on irregularities in the report.
On day one of the committee’s sitting on Monday, Wenchi SHS, Menji Agric SHS, Koase SHS, Sunyani SHS, Berekum Presec, Chiraa SHS, Nkoranman SHS, Nsawkaw SHS, Mansen SHS, Nchiraa SHS, Kumasi, and Sunyani technical universities were in attendance after being indicted on cash management, procurement, payroll, contract, and tax-related breaches.
While some were discharged after the auditors confirmed their recommendations have been adhered to, others needed to provide better evidence.
The committee chairman directed the Attorney General to prosecute Wenchi SHS for breaching the Public Procurement Act in a non-competitive procurement of goods and services.
The school, according to the report, issued payment vouchers amounting to 25, 546.25 which breached section 92 of the procurement Act.
The former headmaster of Menji Agric SHS, Paul Nsiede, was also directed by the committee chairman to provide documents covering an expenditure of over 15,000 to the current headmaster within a week, else he will be made to refund the money to the government chest.
This and many other situations, according to the PAC chairman, James Klutse Avedzi, reoccur despite previous advice to correct the wrongs.
“We will begin to apply the law and recommend the sanctions prescribed by the law. The committee will not prosecute them but we will recommend to the Attorney General to prosecute them”, he said, adding those found liable can go to jail for five years or a 30,000 charge, or both for procurement issues.
“When the AG begins to prosecute them, and some are being jailed, it will serve as a deterrent for others to follow”, he insisted.
He further noted that for breaches of uncompetitive procurement, they will not waste time adding them to a growing list of people and institutions as it happened in the northern region, “and by the time we finish the whole country, we will have a very tall list of candidates for prosecution”.
Mr. Avedzi, who is also the MP for Ketu North, advised the institutions to work and ensure that they follow the recommendations of the report.
“The thirty days window given to them after the exit conference should be utilized to ensure that their names and infractions are not reported in the auditor’s report at all. But once they are reported, we will call them whenever we are meeting”.
Mr. Avedzi said the committee is also expected to sit on the 2019 Auditor general’s report in 2022.
The six days committee sitting is also considering the report of the Auditor General on the accounts of District Assemblies and the management and utilization of the District Assemblies Common Fund for 2018.
Source: MyJoyOnline.com
The Global Network of Export-Import Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID) successfully held its sixth (6th) Exchange Programme, hosted by the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) Bank in Accra from March 22 to 23 March.
The event brought together member institutions, partner organisations and Ghanaian public entities to advance dialogue on South-South trade, investment and development finance, while also creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing and institutional cooperation.
Organised as a capacity-building and networking platform, the 2026 edition of the G-NEXID Exchange focused on GEXIM’s experience in developing innovative solutions to promote intra-African and extra-African trade.
It also highlighted trade and investment opportunities in Ghana, particularly in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and broader national development initiatives.
The Exchange Programme forms part of G-NEXID’s mandate to foster cooperation among export-import banks and development finance institutions in support of South-South trade and investment.
This 6th edition follows earlier successful programmes hosted by India Exim Bank (2016), BNDES (2017), Indonesia Eximbank (2018), Afreximbank (2019) and Saudi EXIM Bank (2025).
On the first day, participants were presented with G-NEXID institutional information and received an update on the Network’s 2026 work programme.
There were a series of substantive presentations, including an overview of the Ghanaian economy by the Ministry of Finance, with particular attention to debt-related challenges; a presentation by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), on investment opportunities in the country; and institutional presentations by GEXIM and Development Bank Ghana (DBG) on their respective mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Discussions during the sessions underscored strong interest in sector-focused webinars and business dialogues, particularly in agribusiness value chains such as poultry and rice.
Participants also emphasized the importance of continued information exchange and the sharing of best practices, especially in the area of guarantees.
The second day opened with a presentation on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, a national economic transformation strategy launched by President John Dramani Mahama in July 2025.
The initiative aims to enhance economic productivity through continuous industrial activity, accelerated export development and strategic import substitution.
As the programme is expected to mobilise both private and development capital, it presents concrete opportunities for G-NEXID members in areas such as co-financing, guarantees, trade finance and technical cooperation.
The programme also featured institutional presentations by guest organisations, namely the African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund (FAGACE) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which shared their mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Following these exchanges, the G-NEXID Secretariat held bilateral discussions with both institutions as part of the Network’s ongoing membership drive.
Participants further benefited from a presentation by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), as well as a showcase of GEXIM’s key pipeline projects.
On the margins of the Exchange Programme, G-NEXID members also held their 20th Annual General Assembly Meeting to review progress and discuss strategic priorities.
Following the event, participants joined the GEXIM@10 International Conference, held from March 24-25, 2026 under the theme, “A Decade of Enabling Export Trade and Industrial Transformation: Resetting GEXIM for the Next Frontier.”
The conference provided an important platform for exploring how Ghana can strengthen its transition from a primary commodity exporter to a more competitive player in value-added trade and industrial development.
Source – G-NEXID
President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, signed five bills including three amendment bills passed by Parliament into law.
They are: Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2025; University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Bill, 2025; Ghana Deposit Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2025; Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and Education Regulatory Bodies (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
In a brief remark after assenting to the bills, President Mahama explained that the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2026, scraps the Office of Minister of National Security and frees the President’s to appoint any Minister to supervise the security agencies.
He said it also reverses the name of the office of National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), to the original name, Bureau of National Intelligence, (BNI).
This the President said, addresses the confusion between that security agency and a well-known Ghanaian financial institution, the National Investment Bank.
President Mahama also noted that the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Act, 2026, establishes another University in the Eastern Region, at Bonsu, with three campuses – the main campus at Bonsu in the Eastern Region, with the second campus to be cited at Ohawu in the Oti Region.
The third, the Presdient assed will be located at Acherensua in the Ahafo Region.
Touching on the Amendment to the Growth and Sustainability Levy Act, the President said, “As you’re aware, the act was amended to increase it from 1% to 3%, and so this act reduces it again. That is the levy on mining companies. It reduces it again to 1%, because of the introduction of the sliding scale of royalties.”
He also spoke to the passage of the Government Education Regulatory Bodies Amendment Act, emphasising that amends Act 1023 to grant greater flexibility to private tertiary institutions and the option to Charter.
The Ghana Deposit Protection Amendment Act, the President concluded, is an amendment to an original act that was supposed to guarantee deposits held in commercial banks or financial institutions.
It basically expands protection to include mobile money wallets and other digital platforms, ensuring a wider scope of digital financial assets are secured.
The signing ceremony, was witnessed by the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic Akrutinga Ayine, Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, a Senior Presidential Advisor and a Special Aide to the President, Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, and the Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang.
