Corruption fight will be my top priority – Mahama

Ghana’s President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has reiterated his commitment to combating corruption and curbing public sector waste to drive the country’s development agenda.

In an interview with Germany-based DW TV, Mahama emphasised his administration’s intent to implement bold reforms to governance structures, enhance anti-corruption frameworks, and enforce strict accountability within public institutions.

The President-elect acknowledged widespread public frustration over the mismanagement of public resources, inefficiencies in governance, and Ghana’s rising national debt.

Describing corruption and waste as significant obstacles to progress, Mahama pledged to introduce constitutional reforms and impose severe penalties on individuals involved in corrupt practices, signalling a decisive shift towards transparency and fiscal discipline in his administration.

“And one of the first things we will do would be to take the whole issue of constitutional review again and see how we can structure things so that we have a more dynamic constitution going forward. Aside from that, we need to take the fight against corruption and waste to a new level.

“And so how do we improve our governance system so that we are not having so much waste as a result of corruption and waste? So that is something that we need to look at to ensure our economic managers can manage it in such a way that we don’t end up where we have found ourselves at this time in terms of debt management.”

He underscored the importance of aligning constitutional reforms with Ghana’s current realities, particularly by incorporating mechanisms that promote accountability and exact punitive consequences on individuals who abuse their public positions for personal gain.

Mahama added that reforming the constitution will create a stronger governance system and ensure that those found guilty of corruption face meaningful repercussions.