Former President Mahama has promised to wage a sustained the fight against corruption and poor governance when elected in 2024 by establishing a Governance Advisory Council.
He explained that the functions of the Council will include the annual release of a State of Governance in Ghana report.
“Every year, the Council will release a report on the state of human rights, corruption, rule of law and a report on our governance, which will serve as a guide for the government to know whether we are on the right track with regards to issues of governance, corruption, human rights, media, and other freedoms including torture and crime,”former President Mahama assured.
Addressing the National Democratic Congress (NDC) executives, members, supporters and sympathisers as part of his campaign to lead the party to the 2024 elections, the former president indicated that membership of the proposed Governance Advisory Council would include representatives of civil society organisations, religious leaders, traditional authorities, and ordinary citizens.
According to him, the establishment of the Governance Advisory Council as he had pledged would be yet another significant step in his quest to promote better governance, rule of law and fight corruption as part of his vision to improve political governance, help curb corruption and ensure the respect for human rights in the country.
Former President Mahama noted that in his first term as President, he introduced a Code of Ethics for Ministers of State and Government Appointees which reflected his government’s vision to maintain a clean government imbued with systems, clear procedures, guidelines for performance and delivery.
He reminded ministers of state that while there were issues that would be accepted in the traditional and cultural context, they were unacceptable under governance ethics and legal conduct.
“One of the strongest ways to prevent unacceptable conduct and abuse of office by public officials is to demarcate the ethical boundaries within which actions and inactions could be deemed to be acceptable or unacceptable”, former President Mahama pointed out.
He asked the government to immediately begin admitting students into the fully completed New Abirem College of Education constructed by the then NDC government which was completed before the end of his tenure of office but had been abandoned and left to illegal miners as their warehouse.
Former President Mahama described the NDC as an “action and no talk party” while the NPP was a “no action talk only party” because, despite the numerous resources at the disposal of the government, they had not been able to properly manage the economy well.
