President John Dramani Mahama has declared that the fight against corruption remains a “defining priority” of his government.
He stated that the government was also committed to an accelerated push against graft and illegal mining, while cautioning Ghanaians about the due process of law.
Delivering the State of the Nation Address (SONA) to Parliament in Accra yesterday, the President acknowledged public impatience over the prosecution of persons alleged to have been involved in corruption, but underscored the importance of procedure and due process in constitutional governance.
“The fight against corruption has remained a defining priority of my government and represents a central pillar of our commitment to good governance and accountability and the prudent management of public resources,” President Mahama stated.
“But yes, I agree with the sentiments of Ghanaians that we must press harder on this accelerator,” he added.
Addressing public frustration with the pace of justice, President Mahama empathised, saying, “I understand that the large majority of Ghanaians are impatient to see those who abuse their public trust in office held to account.”
Wheel of justice
However, the President firmly rejected extrajudicial means of pursuing persons suspected of having committed corruption, recalling past “regrettable excesses” under military regimes.
“In 1992, we finally adopted the 1992 Constitution to accept governance by the rule of law,” emphasising his oath to uphold that position.
President Mahama insisted that “painstaking investigations must be conducted, dockets must be prepared, charges must be filed, and the accused must have their day in court,” a process he deems “necessary to protect us all against abuse or ill-treatment of citizens.”
To buttress his point, President Mahama quoted the late President John Evans Atta Mills, who once said: “The wheels of justice grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine.”
Progress
The President said progress had been made through strengthened collaboration among law enforcement agencies, financial intelligence institutions, and prosecutors, leading to criminal proceedings and asset forfeitures against some individuals involved in financial trafficking.
As of December 2025, he said over GH¢600 million had been recovered.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), he said, was investigating 462 cases with 15 currently under prosecution.
The law enforcement agencies had also successfully dismantled transnational carjacking syndicates and recovered 29 luxury vehicles.
“The government remains resolute that corruption will not be tolerated, regardless of status or political affiliation,” President Mahama reiterated.
He said the Office of the Attorney General would continue to use both criminal prosecution and a non-conviction-based asset recovery approach to retrieve stolen public resources.
Accountability
To further enhance accountability, President Mahama said the government had laid the Public Offences Code of Conduct Bill before Parliament to codify public officers’ conduct and make breaches punishable.
The President thanked the Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, for establishing specialised high courts to address breaches identified in the Auditor General’s report.
He also stated that the comprehensive report from the Constitution Review Committee, which involved extensive public consultation, was being translated into legal and constitutional proposals to address weaknesses and enhance welfare.
Turning to illegal mining, or ‘galamsey’, President Mahama warned that it “continues to pose a grave threat to our government, water bodies, public health, and national security.”
He stressed the need for “a renewed focus on dismantling organised criminal networks behind galamsey operations, rather than targeting only low-level offenders,” acknowledging that “in all these galamsey operations, there are big fish who never get caught.”
More than 114 case dockets involving hundreds of accused persons are pending in the courts, with specialised prosecutors tasked to fast-track these cases and pursue confiscation of proceeds from illegal mining.
Security
On security, President Mahama acknowledged the country’s evolving security landscape, reassuring Parliament that the nation’s troops, services and agencies remained “firmly committed to strengthening national peace and security and to defend our democracy.”
He spoke about recent incidents affecting the safety and security of Ghanaians and stressed the urgent need to re-equip and adequately staff the country’s security agencies.
He cited “the killing of eight of our compatriots who had gone to a neighbouring country to purchase tomatoes” and “just yesterday, an attack on Ghanaian fishermen in our waters by pirates.”
Those events, he said, “reinforced the need for us to re-equip and adequately equip our security services.”
The President commended the swift and coordinated response of the country’s security apparatus.
He specifically praised the Ghana Armed Forces for the “successful medical evacuation of the injured compatriots from Burkina Faso.”
Furthermore, he lauded the combined efforts of the Ghana Navy, Ghana Air Force, National Security Council, and local community leaders for successfully rescuing “all the stranded 71 fishermen who had been attacked by pirates.”
In a gesture of support, President Mahama announced that he had “asked the National Security Coordinator to assist the affected fishermen and replace the stolen outboard motors and fishing gear.”
Beyond these immediate responses, President Mahama also recognised the ongoing role of the Armed Forces in internal security, particularly in containing illegal small-scale mining (galamsey).
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh