The Parliamentary Centre in Ghana

The First Public Meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament of Ghana: 16 – 26 October, 2007

Public Accounts Parliament (PAC) of Parliament of Ghana held its first public meeting on 16 – 26 October, 2007. The meeting considered the Report of the Auditor General on Public Accounts of Ghana for the Year ended December 2004/2005 (Ministries Departments and Agencies of the Central Government). The public sitting of the PAC generated a lot interest among the general public including civil society organizations and political parties.

Whilst there is general agreement that the process will induce accountability in the use of public funds, the exposure of cases of incompetence, mismanagement, fraud and dishonesty in the management of public funds sounded very alarming to the entire citizenry. In addition to various forms of financial malfeasance revealed at the public hearing, there was ample evidence of poor records keeping and data management within the public sector. The revelations at the public hearing is the strongest signal yet that the collaboration of all arms of government – Executive, Parliament and Judiciary is a prerequisite for rooting out the abuse of public resources and the inimical impact on national socio-economic development. Therefore it is encouraging to observe the cooperation between the PAC and the MDAs during the hearing process.

Government and other stakeholders have applauded the decision of the PAC to conduct its business in the public, with the hope that merely naming and shaming individuals and agencies engaged in fraudulent conduct can contribute to reducing corruption. The consensus among the different stakeholders including, the general public and civil society organizations is that the PAC must continue to conduct its business in the public.

A Cross Section of PAC Members at the Public Hearing		Clerk to the PAC Administering the Oath of a Witness before the Committee to Minister and Officials of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing
A Deputy Minister and a Team of Officials from Ministry of Local Government Rural Development and Environment at the PAC Hearing		A Minister and Officials from Ministry of Lands Forestry and Mines at the PAC Hearing