Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem has challenged Public Accounts Committees (PACs) across Africa to ensure that officials responsible for financial irregularities face the full consequences of their actions.
He warned that accountability without enforcement is meaningless. Hence, African countries must move beyond producing audit reports, conducting parliamentary hearings and issuing recommendations to taking concrete action against individuals and institutions found to have mismanaged public resources.
Speaking at the 6th General Meeting and Conference of the African Organisation of Public Accounts Committees (AFROPAC) in Accra on Monday, November 2, 2026, Mr Ampem said similar financial irregularities continue to appear in successive audit reports despite repeated parliamentary scrutiny.
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“Accountability without consequences is just documentation,” he declared.
The three-day conference is under the theme, “Oversight for Resilience: Strengthening Africa’s Public Accounts Committees Amid the Shifting Financial Landscapes.”
The Deputy Minister pointed to procurement breaches, unsupported expenditure, and weak financial controls as recurring problems documented by Auditors-General across the continent.
He said failing to address these irregularities undermines public confidence and weakens efforts to ensure government expenditure delivers meaningful development.
Mr Ampem said African PACs occupy a critical position between government promises and the results citizens expect, making their oversight responsibilities essential to protecting public resources.
He urged AFROPAC to champion the strict implementation of audit recommendations and ensure that officials who breach public trust face the full force of the law.
He also insisted that parliamentary oversight should not end after committee hearings, stressing that public institutions must remain accountable until corrective measures are implemented.
The Deputy Finance Minister called for audit findings to be communicated in simple language so ordinary citizens could understand how public funds were used.
He stressed the importance of digital financial management systems, electronic procurement and transparent reporting in detecting irregularities.
However, he cautioned that technology alone cannot guarantee accountability.
“A computer can flag an irregularity; it takes institutional courage to act on it,” he said.
Mr Ampem also proposed a continental framework for tracking audit recommendations, recovered resources and improvements in financial controls.
He urged African PACs to measure their effectiveness through problems resolved rather than simply the number of hearings conducted and reports examined.
“Africa does not need more audit reports that gather dust. We need PACs that use the audit findings to drive action, recover resources, and improve lives,” he stressed.