Reforming Ghana’s governance systems to strengthen accountability, fight corruption and ensure efficient use of public resources remains a key focus of government, President John Dramani Mahama has said.
He says government is reviewing systems and financial arrangements within the public sector to improve transparency and ensure that public funds are channelled towards their intended purposes.
Speaking at the Accra Reset event in New York on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, President Mahama said reforming Ghana’s governance systems remains a key priority, particularly in the areas of accountability, public finances and management of national resources.
“In Ghana, we are reforming our systems. We are making government more accountable. We are fighting corruption, and we are making more efficient use of our resources than we did in the past,” he said.
He cited the decision to uncap funding for the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) as one of the first steps taken by his administration after assuming office.
President Mahama criticised the previous government’s management of statutory funds, arguing that the system had restricted resources available to the NHIS and other statutory institutions.
“One of the first steps I took was to uncap the National Health Insurance. And what the previous government had done was to put a cap on all statutory funds,” he said.
According to President Mahama, funds exceeding the prescribed percentage of the national budget were transferred into the Consolidated Fund, which he alleged was then used largely for programmes intended to secure political support.
“And if they exceeded a certain percentage of the budget, the excess funds went into the Consolidated Fund and government used it mostly for programmes that would buy political patronage and put them in a better position to win the elections,” he said.
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