President Akufo-Addo has defended the integrity of his government.
He said his government accepts scrutiny and is also accountable. The President stressed that this was in line with past ideals of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Coming off the last few months where the resignation of the Special Prosecutor and the forced resignation of the Auditor General have prompted more corruption concerns in the Akufo-Addo administration, the President however says he is committed to “managing public resources with integrity, fairness, openness, and accountability.”
Speaking during his State of the Nation address, President Akufo-Addo said: “ours is not a government that shies away from public scrutiny. Far from it. That is not the NPP way.”
President Akufo-Addo recalled the repeal of the Criminal Libel law in 2001 when he was Attorney General and even the creation of the Office of Special Prosecutor office as evidence of his party’s commitment to democratic ideals.
“That is why my government, in 2019, enacted the Right to Information Act, which had been shirked by previous administrations, despite decades of agitation by journalists and civil society groups,” the President also said.
He also said his government “more than doubled funding for accountability institutions of state, like CHRAJ, EOCO, the Judiciary, and the Auditor General.”
He reiterated his past words saying: “Ghana will be defined by integrity, sovereignty, a common ethos, discipline, and shared values.”
“This requires a forward-looking vision for our country, enabling us to confront our challenges and embrace our opportunities, not one fastened in the rear-view mirror. It is a Ghana beyond aid.”
