Ranking Member of Parliament for the Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel A. Jinapor, has accused the Mahama administration of repeatedly bypassing due process and publicly pronouncing people guilty before legal processes are completed.

The Damongo MP said the Minority supports accountability over the use of public funds but insists that such efforts must follow the law.

“That accountability, however, must be in accordance with due process of law and not be utilised to achieve cheap political points,” he said.

His comments follow a demand by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa for former Ghanaian Ambassador to the United States, Hajia Alima Mahama, to refund monies allegedly arising from a Special Audit Report on the Ghana Embassy in Washington D.C.

The Minority has questioned the legal basis for the Minister’s demand, arguing that the power to disallow and surcharge following an audit rests solely with the Auditor-General.

Mr Jinapor cited Article 187 of the Constitution, which establishes the Auditor-General’s office and gives it the power of disallowance and surcharge.

“It, therefore, begs the question of what authority the Hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs had to write his letter requesting the former Ambassador to refund the alleged monies,” he said.

He further argued that even where a surcharge has been issued, the affected person has 60 days to pay or appeal to the High Court.

“The procedure adopted by the Hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs seeks to circumvent this laid procedure and curtail the former Ambassador's appeal against surcharges,” Mr Jinapor said.

The Minority also raised concerns over the former Ambassador’s claim that she was not given an opportunity to respond to the audit findings.

The statement quoted her as saying: “The auditors neither spoke to me nor wrote to me to respond to any issue/observation.”

Mr Jinapor said due process required that she be given a hearing before conclusions were reached.

“It cannot, therefore, be the case that an audit will be concluded, and a person pronounced guilty when no responses have been obtained from the person in respect of the alleged breaches,” he said.

He also questioned why the former Ambassador was being asked to refund monies covering activities from 2019 to 2025 when her tenure did not cover the entire period.

The Minority further noted that the Special Audit Report has not yet been laid before Parliament, as required under Section 16 of the Audit Service Act.

Mr Jinapor said the Minister was effectively attributing personal liability to Ms Mahama despite the absence of a surcharge against her.

“In effect, the Minister is attributing personal liability to Ms Mahama in the public domain, when she has not been given a hearing on the matter, when she has not been surcharged by the Auditor-General, and when the Special Audit Report has not been laid before Parliament in accordance with law,” he said.

He said the Minority had observed what it described as a recurring pattern under the current administration.

“The Minority Caucus has, in recent months, observed with concern a recurring tendency on the part of this Administration to proceed ahead of established due process and pronounce people guilty in public even before the legal processes have been put in place,” Mr Jinapor said.

He stressed that constitutional and legal procedures should not be treated as obstacles.

“They are safeguards designed to ensure that the exercise of public power is lawful, fair and capable of withstanding scrutiny,” he said.

The Minority, he added, would support lawful efforts to recover public funds but would insist that such efforts remain within the bounds of the law.