Transparency International Ghana (TI‑Ghana) and the Ghana Anti‑Corruption Coalition (GACC) on Friday called for Parliament to disclose the details of a GH¢70,000 payment allegedly linked to the vetting of ministerial and Supreme Court nominees by the Appointments Committee. The groups said the controversy could erode public trust if the source, purpose and handling of the funds are not properly established.
Deputy Minority Leader and Asokwa MP Patricia Appiagyei reportedly rejected and returned the money, a move the anti‑graft organisations praised. However, they argued that individual actions cannot replace a transparent institutional explanation and that Parliament must publish the allocation’s source, authorising authority, budgetary basis and whether the funds were public, private, caucus‑related or connected to nominees.
TI‑Ghana and GACC also demanded a comprehensive financial account of the total amount involved, the disbursement formula, intended recipients and confirmation of all payments made or returned. They called for a binding framework governing gifts, allowances and facilitation payments associated with committee work, including mandatory disclosure thresholds and sanctions for non‑compliance.
The controversy follows earlier allegations of bribery and demands for money from nominees between 2020 and 2026. In March 2023, MP George Kwaku Ricketts‑Hagan alleged that some minority MPs had received bribes to vote for former President Akufo‑Addo’s nominees. In January 2025, activist Oliver Barker‑Vormawor claimed that Appointments Committee members were demanding money from nominees; the committee’s chairman denied the claim and the activist later retracted it.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor has begun a preliminary investigation into the authenticity of a memorandum attributed to Appiagyei, the source of the alleged funds and their intended purpose. The Minority Caucus disputes the memo’s authenticity, calling it fake. TI‑Ghana and GACC urge Parliament to cooperate fully with the investigation and to take steps to restore public confidence.
“We therefore call on the Right Honourable Speaker to translate his pledge into verifiable action now, as tomorrow might just be too late,” the groups said, citing Speaker Alban Bagbin’s January 2025 remarks that misconduct in the Appointments Committee had contributed to low public trust in Parliament.
The groups warned that the current controversy should not end in silence, partisan explanations or internal accommodation. They said Ghana needs full disclosure, independent scrutiny and lasting reforms to protect the credibility of parliamentary vetting, noting that the legitimacy of Parliament as the nation’s premier accountability institution hinges on how this moment is handled.
