By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
The Executive Director of Transparency International Ghana (TIG), Madam Mary Awelana Addah, has called for lifestyle audits of public appointees, citing growing public concern over financial accountability in government.
Her comments come in the wake of widespread backlash following the circulation of a video on social media showing Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Mr. Sammy Gyamfi, and a leading figure in the National Democratic Congress (NDC), making a cash donation in U.S. dollars to Patricia Oduro Koranteng, popularly known as Nana Agradaa—a former fetish priestess turned evangelist.
The video showed Mr Sammy Gyamfi handing over an undisclosed amount of dollars to Mama Patricia during a public event.
Commenting on the issue on Channel One TV on Sunday, May 11, 2025, Madam Addah criticised the public’s tendency to celebrate public officials who make large donations without questioning the sources of their wealth.
“We tend to criminalise and also speak against those who are given gifts. We tend to talk about those who receive them and we contextualise them as bribes. And we criminalise those because they are not acceptable. But then, we see these same public officers engaging in some of these behaviours in many spheres of society, and they are applauded.
We see them go into our churches, and they give big donations. And the prayers are even different in many instances. We also see them at funerals donating big sums. But we don’t do much with them. Because we accept these when they are given to us as donations, without questioning the source,” the Executive Director of TIG said.
According to her, the incident presents an opportunity for a broader conversation about accountability and the financial conduct of public officers.
“For me, without a doubt, this is an opportunity for us to think about the issue of lifestyle audits to be able to determine where these monies public officers are giving to individuals out there, where is the source, where is it coming from? She reiterated.
However, Mr. Gyamfi has since issued a public apology, stating that the donation was a private gesture and not intended for public attention.
