My ministers are on notice, scandals won’t be tolerated – Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has warned that his administration will show zero tolerance for corruption, stressing that any official who brings scandal to his government will face the harshest consequences.

During Tuesday’s meeting with the Christian Council at the Jubilee House, Mahama said his commitment to fighting corruption was not a campaign slogan but a governing principle that remains central to his leadership.

He emphasized that the struggle against graft must be immediate and uncompromising, not a matter deferred to future administrations.

“We, before I became president, had indicated that we were going to take the fight against corruption to a whole new level, and it is not personal against anybody,” he said.

President Mahama criticised what he described as Ghana’s long-standing pattern of addressing corruption only after governments leave office.

According to him, this approach fuels accusations of political revenge instead of fostering accountability.

“Our problem in the fight against corruption is that it is always post-regime corruption that we fight, and so when a government is in office, when scandals are taking place, they don’t deal with them,” he explained. “They leave them until a new government comes, and when the new government starts investigating, the previous government says, ‘Oh, you’re witch-hunting us. This is political persecution.’”

The President said this cycle must end and warned that his ministers have been repeatedly reminded of the standard expected of them.

“I have served notice to my ministers in Cabinet every day. Ask them, I always remind them,” he noted, stressing that vigilance and integrity are mandatory, not negotiable.

He added a stern and symbolic warning to underline his seriousness.

“I saw the prosecutions that we are taking. Woe betides the first person who brings a scandal to this government; we shall hang them on a cross, and you’ll follow our Lord Jesus Christ,” he said, drawing reactions from the room.

President Mahama told the Christian Council that his administration intends to demonstrate in real time that corruption will be confronted head-on to build trust, strengthen governance and protect public resources.

He assured the clergy that decisive action, guided by due process, will define his approach throughout his tenure.