The 2024 New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Sekyere Afram Plains, George Akom, has criticised the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government for failing to secure the nation’s finances, describing the GH¢5.2 billion in financial irregularities recorded in the 2025 Auditor General’s Report as a mark of failure.
Speaking on Wontumi TV’s morning show, hosted by Oheneba Asiedu, Akom said the Mahama-led administration has set a troubling record on corruption.
“When the NDC were in opposition, they told us we would not record such numbers in irregularities when they won power. But when they came in, they surpassed the figures we recorded in our time. Yet whenever we talk about it, they always find reasons to justify themselves,” he said.
The 2025 report puts total irregularities at GH¢5.2 billion, more than double the GH¢2.06 billion recorded in the 2024 report. Tax irregularities accounted for the largest share, rising to GH¢4.8 billion from GH¢1.58 billion in 2024.
Akom said the scale of the figures was concerning, arguing that the NPP had never overseen irregularities of this magnitude while in office.
“If we look at the fight against corruption in this country, the NPP has done more than the NDC in terms of implementing policies to fight it. We were the ones who brought the Whistleblowers Act and introduced digitisation,” he said.
He also claimed the NDC had criticised the previous Auditor-General’s report despite (figures that were lower to verify against source), accusing the party of benefiting from public sympathy it had not earned.
“When you look at the figures from the Auditor-General, they have doubled. So when we talk about governance and how each government has managed the nation, the NPP has done well, but citizens always sympathise with the NDC as though whatever they say is right. This report has really exposed them,” he said.
Akom called on the Auditor-General to take stronger action on the report’s findings, expressing concern that offenders often go unpunished.
“I think after every report from the Auditor-General, an update should be given to the public about the recoveries made. If we allow impunity to lead us in this fight against corruption, we will find it difficult to win it. And when that happens, the poor will always suffer while the major offenders mismanaging the country’s finances go unpunished,” he said.
Source: Desmond Adom/wontumionline