Bagbin Urges PAC Members to Detain Officials Who Fail to Account for Public Funds

• Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin addressed members of the Public Accounts Committee at an African conference on accountability
• Bagbin urged PAC members to invoke their legal powers, including detaining officials who misbehave during hearings
• The Speaker drew on his own experience as a former PAC member, recalling instances where he ordered the detention of individuals

Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has called on members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to take a firmer stance in holding public officials responsible for the management of state resources, urging them to use every legal tool available, including detaining individuals who misbehave during committee hearings.

Bagbin made the remarks while addressing delegates at the African Organisation of Public Accounts Committees Conference.

Speaking from personal experience as a former PAC member, he reminded the committee that their mandate carries real authority and that exercising it decisively is not optional but essential.

Speaker's call for courage in oversight

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The Speaker stressed that committee members must be willing to confront those in power when they fall short, and go further by enforcing consequences.

He noted that detaining unruly or uncooperative officials overnight during hearings was both legally permitted and practically effective.

"You must have that courage to be able to tell those in power that you got it wrong, and you must have the courage to go beyond that. It's permitted that during the hearings, when there's any misbehaviour, you can apply the law, and you have the opportunity of sending people into detention during the hearings of the Public Accounts Committee, to let people know that this is serious business, and they were detained overnight. The next day, when they come back, they will behave correctly," Bagbin said.

He added that the PAC's work should never be treated lightly:

"So this is not a business to be toyed with. It's real serious business. That is what governance is about and you have that mandate."

Bagbin grounded his remarks in the relationship between citizens and government, arguing that public officials hold resources in trust and must answer for how they use them. He said the PAC exists precisely to enforce that accountability on behalf of ordinary Ghanaians.

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He urged members to discharge their oversight duties with diligence and without compromise, insisting that public financial accountability is central to good governance and cannot be treated as a matter for negotiation or leniency.

The Facebook post below has the video of the Speaker in Parliament speaking.

France bust: Speaker rejects independent probe request

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin dismissed a motion brought by the Minority caucus that sought to establish a special parliamentary committee to examine a string of major narcotics interceptions linked to Ghana.

The decision came during an emergency sitting of Parliament held on Tuesday, September 29, convened specifically to address the motion.

Bagbin ruled it out of order, citing several procedural grounds.

Source: YEN.com.gh