The Member of Parliament for Sagnarigu, Attah Issah, has made a bold call for the government to shift its focus toward the physical recovery of misappropriated state funds, even suggesting that “looters” should be given avenues to return stolen money without necessarily facing the hammer of the justice system.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point of View on Wednesday, March 11, Mr. Issah argued that while prosecution serves as a deterrent, the immediate developmental needs of the country require the actual cash to be returned to the state’s coffers.
“Bring back the resources”
The MP’s comments come on the heels of the latest Auditor-General’s report, which has exposed a staggering web of financial irregularities totaling billions of cedis.
“Sometimes the justice system can serve as a deterrent point. But we must also recover looted monies for the state,” Mr. Issah told host Bernard Avle. “If there are avenues for people to bring back the resources they illegally stole from the state for us to use them to develop the country, I think there’s nothing wrong with that.”
His “recovery-first” stance suggests a pragmatic—if controversial—approach to tackling the “leaking bucket” of public finance, prioritizing national development over lengthy and often expensive legal battles.
The GH¢68 billion audit breakdown
The 2024 Auditor-General’s report on government arrears and payables has put the Ministry of Finance and various contractors under a harsh spotlight. Out of GH¢68.7 billion in claims submitted by contractors and suppliers, the audit revealed a massive disparity in legitimacy:
● GH¢45.4 Billion: Validated and cleared for payment.
● GH¢8.1 Billion: Outright rejected due to identified irregularities.
● GH¢13.3 Billion: Suspended, pending further validation due to missing contracts, lack of documentation, or zero third-party confirmation.
The “missing rice” mystery
Beyond the billions in suspicious contracts, the audit also flagged specific commodity irregularities that have raised eyebrows across the political divide.
Notably, 10,000 metric tonnes of rice purchased in 2024 to mitigate the impact of a severe dry spell remain unaccounted for. The failure to track these food supplies has raised serious questions about transparency in the distribution of aid intended for vulnerable farmers and citizens.
A call for robust mechanisms
Mr. Issah emphasized that for his proposed “recovery without prosecution” model to work, the government must establish transparent and appropriate channels for the return of funds.
With GH¢8.1 billion in claims already identified as irregular, the MP believes the state is sitting on a goldmine of potentially recoverable assets that could be redirected toward infrastructure, healthcare, and education.
As the debate over the Audit Report intensifies in Parliament, the question remains: will the government pursue the “deterrent” of the jailhouse, or follow Mr. Issah’s path of “amnesty for assets” to plug the nation’s fiscal deficit?
