President Mahama Assents to Legal Education, Governance Advisory Council and Value for Money Office Acts
President John Dramani Mahama has assented to three major pieces of legislation aimed at strengthening governance, accountability and access to professional legal education in Ghana.
The newly signed laws — the Legal Education Act, the Governance Advisory Council Act and the Value for Money Office Act — form part of the Mahama administration’s broader legislative reform agenda focused on institutional efficiency, transparency and public sector accountability.
Speaking after signing the bills into law, President Mahama said the Legal Education Act is designed to regulate legal education while maintaining high standards in the training of lawyers across the country.
According to him, the legislation will also expand opportunities for legal education and address longstanding concerns over access to professional legal training for aspiring lawyers.
“This is the Legal Education Act to regulate legal education and ensure the highest standards in terms of legal education, but also to open up the space for more opportunity for legal education in Ghana,” President Mahama stated.
He described the law as a long-awaited reform welcomed by prospective law students and legal professionals.
President Mahama also signed the Governance Advisory Council Act into law, describing it as a key intervention to promote transparency, ethical leadership and trust in public office.
“If you remember, it was one of the promises I made to promote good governance and trust in public office,” he said.
The President explained that the Governance Advisory Council will help strengthen accountability mechanisms, reinforce ethical standards and support efforts to improve public confidence in state institutions.
In addition, President Mahama assented to the Value for Money Office Act, which establishes a dedicated office to scrutinise public procurement and ensure government expenditure delivers maximum value to citizens.
According to the President, the office will review contracts and identify inefficiencies, particularly inflated project costs and procurement irregularities that have often undermined public financial management.
Under the new law, all sole-sourced contracts and public contracts above a specified threshold must be submitted to the Value for Money Office for review before approval.
President Mahama said the measure is intended to improve transparency, strengthen procurement oversight and ensure prudent use of public resources.
He stressed that Ghana must derive full value from its development spending as government intensifies efforts to improve accountability and restore confidence in public sector governance.
