President John Dramani Mahama said on Tuesday that his administration would restructure institutions to ensure effective fight against corruption in the coming years.

He said most of the corrupt practices that had been experienced over the years were due to institutional lapses and failures and therefore putting such structures in place would create a fertile ground for fighting the canker.

President Mahama said this when he answered questions from journalists at the Flagstaff House, Kanda, to mark his first year in office. President Mahama said his administration would continue to fight corruption, irrespective of the origins of all the problems.

He said as a government they were bound to inherit both assets and liabilities and he would therefore not blame any previous government for any form of corruption. He pledged to tighten the lapses that paved way for corrupt practices over the years and restructure the offices of the Auditor General to perform their duties efficiently.

The President appealed to the media to expose all kinds of corrupt practices that would reduce the practice to the barest minimum in Ministries, Departments and agencies of government.

On the financial scandals that were recorded at the Ghana Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA), President Mahama attributed those corrupt practices to lack of systems that could stem the practice, which he said government had embarked on measures to rectify in succeeding years.

He promised that the government would reclaim all monies that had been acquired through fraudulent means and government would also not hesitate to prosecute all those that would be culpable in the GYEEDA and the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority funds.

On dealing with the illegal mining in the country, President Mahama said government would soon embark on a reclamation exercise in all the mining areas of the country.

He said the government was holding talks to engage the youth in the reclaiming exercise where they would be expected to plant trees and fill all the pits that were created as a result of the illegal mining.

President Mahama gave the assurance that his administration would crack the whip on government appointees when it is necessary and urged the public to provide ample notices on the malfeasance of government officials.