Joyce Bawah backs specialised courts to tackle audit and environmental crimes

Special Advisor to the President, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, has welcomed the government’s decision to establish specialised courts to prosecute financial and environmental offences, describing the move as a long overdue step toward strengthening public accountability.

In a Facebook post on Monday, November 17, 2025, Mogtari said recent proceedings at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have made it clear that Ghana must confront the root causes of corruption and environmental destruction with urgency and resolve.

According to her, although the Auditor-General’s reports consistently expose mismanagement of public funds, accountability often stalls because the office lacks prosecutorial powers.

“For how long the President must repeatedly call for further investigations into audit infractions, only for accountability to stall?” she stated.

The new initiative, announced by President John Dramani Mahama in October after consultations with the Acting Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, the Attorney-General Dr Dominic Ayine, and the Auditor-General Johnson Akuamoah-Asiedu, will see the creation of specialised financial and environmental courts.

Joyce Bawah Mogtari retains her post as President John Mahama's aide

These courts will handle offences highlighted in the Auditor-General’s reports as well as crimes related to illegal mining (galamsey).

The reforms also introduce circuit adjudications nationwide to ensure that cases involving financial malfeasance and environmental harm are heard quickly and closer to communities across Ghana.

Mogtari noted that the Auditor-General will continue to apply constitutional powers under Article 187 to disallow illegal expenditures and surcharge individuals involved in misusing state funds.

She said this dual approach administrative sanctions and judicial prosecution sends a strong signal that ‘impunity is no longer an option’.

Highlighting why the measure is crucial, she said dedicated courts will help close the enforcement gap that has allowed countless infractions to go unpunished, deter future misuse of public funds, and elevate the seriousness with which Ghana treats environmental crimes.

Illegal mining, she argued, is not just an environmental offence but “a crime against national survival.”

She added that the courts also address longstanding obstacles such as case backlogs and jurisdictional challenges, which have hindered the prosecution of audit-related offences.

For the specialised courts to succeed, Mogtari stressed the need for adequate resourcing of judges and investigators, strong whistle-blower protection systems, public transparency through published case outcomes, and governance reforms including procurement discipline and strengthened internal audits.

Joyce Bawa Mogtari reveals how much John Mahama received as ex-gratia

She cautioned, however, that under-resourced courts risk repeating past failures, and that systemic weaknesses must also be addressed to prevent the continued diversion of public funds. Independence from political interference, she added, will be key to building public trust.

Mogtari described the initiative as a potentially transformative moment for Ghana’s governance landscape.

“If implemented effectively, this initiative would mark a turning point in Ghana’s pursuit of accountability and sustainable governance,” she said. “The question now is whether we, as citizens and institutions, will rise to meet this moment.”

She said the answer must be a collective ‘yes’ to protect the public purse, safeguard the environment and secure the future of generations to come.

Read full post below

MRA/EB

President Mahama visits 37 Military Hospital to console El-Wak stampede victims