According to Thomas Nyarko Ampem, Deputy Finance Minister, he is optimistic that President John Mahama’s administration would finish its four-year term without a single scandal.
Speaking at the Annual Conference of the African Association of Accountants General in Accra, Mr. Ampem said the government is firmly guided by the President’s strict and repeated warnings to appointees to stay away from corrupt practices.
“It has been 10 months of no scandal. Hopefully, we will end the first year with no scandal. Second year, third year, and the administration will end without a scandal,” he said.
His remarks follow President Mahama’s harsh warning to public officials on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, during a meeting with the Christian Council of Ghana, emphasizing that anyone found to be involved in corruption during his administration will suffer dire repercussions.
At cabinet sessions, the President stated that he tells his ministers every day not to cause any scandal for his government. He contends that combating corruption is an essential endeavor to safeguard public resources rather than a personal one.
“The prosecutions that we are taking against the current government — woe betides the first person who brings a scandal to this government. We shall hang them on a cross, as we follow our Lord Jesus Christ, but they cannot resurrect again,” President Mahama warned.
Reacting to this, Mr. Ampem said the President’s stance has set a new tone for accountability within government.
“He says to us: woe betides any of you who bring scandal to my government. And so, if you meet any appointee, what we say is, ‘Hey, let me be sure that I’m not the first to bring scandal to the President.’ This is putting us on our toes,” he said.
He applauded the President for, in his opinion, providing strong and necessary guidance on moral behavior in public office.