Accountability In Governance Has Become Optional — That Is The Dilemma

The Accra Flooding: This government is determined not to throw good money after bad, yet still gets the blame. If only it took the quest for accountability more seriously.

The greatest tragedy in our governance today is not merely the floods that continue to devastate Accra. It is the flood of misinformation, political convenience, and the complete absence of accountability.

The current government should not be surprised by the criticism it is receiving over the recent floods. In politics, perception often becomes reality. When you fail to confront the truth with facts and decisive action, falsehoods fill the vacuum.

Questions have long been raised—including by IMANI President Franklin Cudjoe—about the use of the US$350 million intended to improve drainage, sanitation, and flood control in Accra. Allegations have persisted that substantial portions of those funds were diverted to projects unrelated to their original purpose. If those concerns are true, then Ghanaians deserve answers. They deserve transparency. Above all, they deserve accountability.

If the current administration has chosen to exercise caution before committing more public funds to the same problem, that is understandable. No responsible government should continue pouring taxpayers’ money into a system without first establishing what happened to previous investments. Throwing good money after bad has never been a solution.

However, where this government has failed is in its reluctance to aggressively pursue accountability. Had it done so from the beginning, today’s public conversation would be very different.

Imagine where we would be today:

If those responsible for mismanaging public funds had been investigated without fear or favour. If every cedi that could not be properly accounted for had been traced and explained. If institutions established to protect the public purse had acted professionally, independently, and without political interference. If anyone found to have unlawfully enriched themselves at the expense of the state had been compelled to return every pesewa. If former ministers had publicly accounted for decisions made under their watch. If those who supervised the nation’s economic management had been required to explain what they knew—or failed to know—about the handling of these resources. If individuals who refused lawful investigations had been prosecuted instead of protected. If those found guilty of embezzlement had been punished swiftly and required to refund the public purse.

These are not unreasonable expectations. They are the minimum standards of good governance.

Instead, accountability has become negotiable. Justice has become selective. Responsibility has become optional.

And when accountability is optional, incompetence flourishes, corruption becomes normalised, public confidence collapses, and ordinary citizens pay the price—sometimes with their property, sometimes with their livelihoods, and tragically, sometimes with their lives.

Governance is not about speeches. It is not about slogans. It is about consequences. A government that truly believes in accountability must be prepared to pursue it relentlessly, regardless of whose interests are affected.

Until that happens, every rainy season will bring not only floods but also the same unanswered questions, the same public frustration, and the same political blame game.

The “ifs” will continue to grow because the courage to act has been missing.

That is the dilemma.

And until accountability is no longer optional, it will remain Ghana’s greatest governance failure.