Mahama: Code of conduct for public officials to become legally binding

President John Dramani Mahama has announced that government is moving to transform its Code of Conduct for public officials into a legally binding instrument, saying the new framework before Parliament will replace the current version based on moral persuasion.

Speaking at a Presidential Dialogue with Civil Society Organisations, President Mahama said the administration had already introduced internal ethical guidelines for ministers even before the formal legislative process began.

“The code of conduct is before Parliament. But even before Parliament received the bill, we had started our own code of conduct,” he said.

He explained that the initial version of the Code was introduced immediately after the appointment of ministers, adding that copies were formally distributed during a ceremony at the Presidency.

“We published it, and at the time that we appointed our ministers, we gave them copies. There was a ceremony in this very room where we launched the code of conduct and gave it to the ministers and asked them to study it,” President Mahama stated.

However, he noted that the government is now taking a more decisive step by seeking to enshrine the Code in law, making it enforceable across the public sector.

“But now we’re going to legislate the code of conduct. That is the difference. The one that we gave to them was moral persuasion, but now it’s going to be law,” he said.

President Mahama stressed that once the bill is passed by Parliament, all provisions within the Code will carry legal force and compliance will be mandatory.

“And so everything there in the code of conduct, Parliament is going to debate it, and everything in the Code of Conduct will be enforceable,” he noted.

He further expressed confidence in Parliament’s handling of the bill and assured that the executive would act swiftly once the legislative process is completed.

“We leave it to the best judgment of our representatives in Parliament to take the code through the processes, and when they have passed it and brought it as a law, I can assure you that I will assent to it as quickly as possible,” President Mahama added.