By Nana Asare Baffour
The recent confession by the Auditor-General of Ghana, admitting to an overstatement of the country’s total public debt by GH¢138.90 billion in the 2024 report, is a damning indictment of the credibility and competence of the current leadership at the Audit Service. Such a monumental error, especially in a sensitive document like the national audit report, raises critical questions about the reliability of the institution. If an institution tasked with accountability and transparency can inflate national debt figures by that margin and only offer an apology after public outcry, how can Ghanaians trust it to carry out politically sensitive audits fairly and professionally?
It is, therefore, deeply worrying that President John Dramani Mahama, who has been associated with questionable governance and corruption scandals in the past, is now attempting to use this same Auditor-General to audit the books of the National Cathedral. This move appears more like a calculated witch-hunt than a genuine effort to promote accountability. Especially when globally respected auditing firms like Deloitte have already conducted credible and professional audits of the National Cathedral accounts. Mahama’s intentions seem politically motivated, aimed at creating needless controversy and attacking a legacy project of the past administration.
The Auditor-General, whose oversight has led to one of the most embarrassing financial reporting blunders in our history, cannot be trusted to conduct an impartial audit of a project that has become a political football. The involvement of such a compromised institution will not serve the interest of transparency but will rather deepen public mistrust and polarize the country further. What Ghanaians need is a competent, neutral, and internationally accredited body to undertake such sensitive audits not a politicized Audit Service being used as a tool of vengeance.
Ghanaians must rise up and reject this diabolic attempt by John Dramani Mahama to manipulate national institutions for his political gain. The credibility of our democratic processes and public institutions is at stake. We cannot allow someone with a questionable track record to exploit an already weakened Audit Service to pursue political vendettas. The National Cathedral audit must remain above politics, and under no circumstance should it be handed over to an Auditor-General who has demonstrated gross incompetence and lack of transparency. Let us safeguard our institutions from political manipulation and preserve the sanctity of national accountability.
REJECT MAHAMA’S DIABOLIC AGENDA, THE AUDITOR-GENERAL LACKS CREDIBILITY TO AUDIT THE NATIONAL CATHEDRAL
