The Chairperson of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Abena Osei-Asare, has pledged to audit the current New Patriotic Party (NPP) government without fear or favour, insisting that protecting the public purse must take precedence over party loyalty.
Mrs Osei-Asare, the three-term Member of Parliament for Atiwa East, said she would not hesitate to apply sanctions to ministries, departments, and agencies that fail to act on audit recommendations—regardless of their political alignment.
“It’s not about auditing one government or another; it’s about protecting the public purse, which is non-negotiable,” she said in an interview with Citi FM on Monday, 9 June 2025.
“These are funds meant to benefit Ghanaians, so we must manage them efficiently, irrespective of which government is in power.”
She acknowledged the difficulty of auditing a government led by her own party but maintained that her duty was to the Ghanaian people.
Mrs Osei-Asare’s appointment comes at a time when institutions tasked with promoting transparency are facing significant budget constraints.
She disclosed that the budget of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), which monitors the use of oil revenues, had been slashed from GH¢11.2 million to GH¢4.6 million.
She added that other bodies—including the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA)—had also suffered budget cuts in 2025.
“We must provide these agencies with the resources to fulfil their mandates,” she warned, adding that inadequate funding could undermine the fight against corruption.
Under its previous leadership, the PAC helped recover GH¢12.9 billion for the state, according to the Auditor-General’s latest report to Parliament.
Mrs Osei-Asare said she intends to take a more proactive approach by ensuring that audit recommendations are implemented before new reports are reviewed.
“By the end of my tenure, I want Ghanaians to see a PAC that is more preventive—reducing the number of infractions reported to Parliament,” she said.
