President John Dramani Mahama has urged African Accountants-General to place probity and accountability at the heart of public financial management, describing them as essential for sustainable development, citizen trust, and the protection of public resources.
He delivered the keynote address at the opening of the Third Conference of the African Association of Accountants General (AAAG) in Accra, attended by 23 Accountants-General from across Africa. The four-day conference, themed “Africa of Tomorrow: Positioning PFM for Economic Prosperity,” aims to guide participants in developing transparent, resilient, and modern financial systems to support continental transformation.
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“Africa stands at a defining moment in its history. The continent is rich in talent, resources, and potential, and yet is constrained by debt vulnerabilities, fiscal pressures, deficiencies in public expenditure, and gaps in financial reporting,” President Mahama said, highlighting the urgent need for effective and ethical financial governance.
He emphasised that modern Accountant-Generals are no longer merely custodians of records but architects of national economic stability and frontline defenders of public accountability. He urged them to embrace technological innovations such as AI-enabled auditing, digital procurement systems, integrated financial management systems, blockchain, and data dashboards to enhance transparency, monitoring, and forecasting.
“Public Financial Management is ultimately about trust… No economic model can succeed without this trust. No government can build a prosperous society in its absence,” he added, stressing the importance of independent, professional, and politically insulated institutions with standardised procedures.
President Mahama also called for convergence in accounting, auditing, and reporting standards across Africa to facilitate cross-border investments, strengthen regional blocs like ECOWAS, SADC, and EAC, and advance continental integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). He proposed a future African public finance charter as a continental benchmark for transparency and fiscal responsibility.
Mr Kwesi Agyei, Ghana’s Controller and Accountant-General, described the conference as an opportunity to share best practices and develop strategies for enhanced financial governance across Africa. Dr Shamseldeen B. Ogunjimi, Acting Chairman of AAAG and Accountant-General of Nigeria, added that modern Accountant-Generals are strategists, advisors, and stewards of integrity tasked with balancing both financial records and national needs.
Mr Fredrick Riaga, CEO of AAAG, congratulated President Mahama on his victory in Ghana’s 2024 general election, marking the occasion as a milestone for leadership and governance in the region.
