Former Chairman of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), James
Klutse Avedzi, has issued a strong call to the Attorney General to take swift
action against public officials implicated in the Auditor General’s reports for
misusing state funds.
Avedzi, who is now the Director General of the Securities and Exchanges
Commission (SEC), expressed concern over the long delay in prosecuting these
officials despite clear evidence against them. Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express
Business Edition last Thursday, he stressed the need for urgent legal action.
“The current Attorney General has a lot to do, because if we look at PAC’s
recommendations in the past, there are many people he must prosecute,” Avedzi
said.
He emphasized that while some cases may require additional investigation,
many of the individuals cited in the PAC reports have already been thoroughly
scrutinized and must face justice without further delay.
“For the Public Accounts Committee report, the issues are clear. The Auditor
General has done a lot of work and came out with those recommendations. The
Public Accounts Committee has also invited the people. They appeared before the
committee, and their explanations were not convincing. We think that the people
must be prosecuted. It’s very simple.”
Avedzi criticized the slow pace of prosecutions, stating that the Attorney
General has no excuse for not acting on the reports.
“It is for him to call for those reports from Parliament. If he gets to the
Clerk of the Public Accounts Committee, he can get those reports. Or the
Hansard of Parliament can provide the decision of Parliament on those reports.”
He assured that the Auditor General’s team is fully prepared to present
evidence in court and assist with the prosecutions.
“The Auditor General’s staff are ready, because I’ve told them that they
have the working papers for all the audits they did. They will be called to
provide those pieces of evidence in court. And they are ready. Whatever issues
go to court, they are ready to go and defend.”
Avedzi further warned that allowing these cases to remain unresolved would
only encourage more corruption within the public sector.
“The number is huge, and he has a lot to do,” he reiterated, calling for
immediate action to prevent further financial losses to the state.
The issue of corruption within public institutions has remained a major
concern in Ghana, with repeated calls for stronger measures to hold officials
accountable. Many reports from the Auditor General and PAC have exposed
significant financial mismanagement, yet prosecutions have been rare.
Avedzi’s statements have reignited public debate on the matter, with some
urging the government to demonstrate its commitment to fighting corruption by
ensuring that those responsible for misusing public funds face justice. Others
believe that political interference and bureaucracy have hindered the
prosecution process, making it difficult to bring corrupt officials to book.
Despite the legal framework in place to deal with financial misconduct,
enforcement has been weak, allowing some officials to act with impunity.
Experts in governance and law have emphasized the importance of ensuring that
the rule of law prevails in such cases.
With growing public dissatisfaction over corruption and mismanagement of
state resources, pressure is mounting on the Attorney General to act
decisively. Many believe that swift and fair prosecutions will serve as a
deterrent to future financial misconduct and strengthen the country’s
institutions.
As the discussion continues, the focus remains on whether the Attorney
General will take concrete steps to address these long-standing cases or
whether they will remain unresolved like many others in the past.
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