Hon. Kan-Dapaah: The Fiscal Hawk

Passengers and visitors passing through the arrivals hall of the Reagan Washington Airport in the United States of America cannot help but see a big billboard carrying the picture of Hon. Kan Dapaah with the inscription FINANCIAL HAWK: ALBERT KAN DAPAAH.

The billboard is sponsored by OXFAM-America and seeks to recognize and appreciate the quiet but determined efforts of Hon Kan Dapaah and his colleagues who are fighting against public sector corruption in Ghana.

Hon. Albert Kan-Dapaah gained national prominence and admiration as Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament of Ghana from 2009 to 2012. He left parliament after sixteen years of service in the august House and in 2013 he teamed up with three other retired Chartered Accountants to co-found the Financial Accountability and Transparency-Africa which is a think tank to support good Public Financial Management practices in Ghana and Africa. Last year, he was honoured with an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Professional Studies, Accra and subsequently appointed to head the University’s Centre for Public Accountability (CPA).

The CPA is one of four Centres of Excellence at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, with a mission to promote and enhance sound Public Sector Accountability institutions and mechanisms in Africa by providing public sector practitioners with the opportunity for continual learning and development, research and knowledge sharing as well as consultancy support.

OXFAM-America is a major Civil Society Organisation in the United States that works to right the wrongs of poverty, hunger and injustice worldwide.