One of the cardinal principles of Ghana's Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) government, which ruled the country from 31st December 1981 to 6th January 1993, is accountability of not only public officials, but also all Ghanaians, irrespective of their social and financial standing. So high was the tenet of accountability on the agenda of the PNDC that the government contemplated adding it to Ghana's existing motto of "Freedom and justice". This paper explores public accountability under the PNDC government. The paper found that accountability was undermined by several factors: namely, the ineffectiveness of the appraisal and sanctioning institutions created by the PNDC government, the authoritarian nature of the PN1X1 itself, the lack of transparency and candour on the part of the government in the conduct of public affairs and the economic hardship that faced Ghanaians.
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