"It is expected to be clear enough to enable the general public to
see malfeasance if there is (any) and hold the agency involved
accountable," he added.
President John Dramani Mahama of Ghana addresses attendees during the
70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N.
headquarters in New York, September 30, 2015.
Ghana's President John Mahama has banned public officials from first class air travel in a renewed effort to cut wasteful spending as the West African nation implements an IMF aid deal to revive state finances, the government said on Tuesday.
Ghana
is preparing to hold presidential and parliamentary elections next year
and, with the opposition accusing government ministers of inflating
contract sums, inappropriate spending will likely be a top campaign
issue.
The presidency issued the
directive this week asking all ministers and other top officials to
avoid "unwarranted" foreign trips on the public purse, Communications
Minister Edward Omane Boamah told Reuters.
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Ghana,
a major producer of cocoa, gold and oil, began a three-year program
with the International Monetary Fund in April to fix its economy, which
has been dogged by high deficits, a widening public debt and unstable
local currency.
Finance Minister Seth Terkper
told Reuters on Tuesday the cabinet is also discussing a financial
accountability bill which would impose penalties such as dismissal or
jail time for public officials who are found to violate it.
"It
is expected to be clear enough to enable the general public to see
malfeasance if there is (any) and hold the agency involved accountable," he added.
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