Ten-year Anti Corruption Plan Rolled Out

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    A 24-member Working Group comprising representatives of government, parliament, private sector, civil society and judicial service has rolled out a 10- year action plan to implement strategies to reduce
    corruption in the country.

    Consequently, a one-day stakeholders’ consultation and workshop to collate views and suggestions was held at Elmina to help establish and coordinate a systematic approach of developing a National Anti Corruption Plan (NACAP) which would help enforce laws to ensure financial accountability and eliminate loopholes in the country’s legal act.

    It was facilitated by the Commission For Human Rights and
    Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). Speaking at the Workshop Mr. Joseph Whittal, the Director of Legal Investigations of CHRAJ, said although corruption all over the world was a threat to the moral, political, economic and social wellbeing of people, efforts to fight it over the years had failed because it did not effectively delve into the root causes of corruption.

    He mentioned some of the problems of corruption as economic, political, social and cultural factors as well as the weak enforcement of laws and regulations, weak institutions and lack of political commitment or will to fight corruption. According to him, a research by Transparency International (TI) showed that 31% of Ghanaians considered political parties very corrupt and cited the recent payment of exorbitant filing fees by political aspirants as a factor in deepening the country’s political woes and destroying the hope to see an end to political corruption.

    It revealed that there had been 63% instances where security agencies had demanded bribes before providing services and another 32% instance where bribes had been paid for acquisition of permits and license. He accused the private sector for contributing and facilitating corruption in the country adding that a report by a World Bank Survey showed that 39% of private firms make informal payments to public officials while 61% give gifts to secure government contracts.

    He said a recent survey by Ghana Integrity International (GII) showed that Ghanaians had low rating for state agencies like the security, revenue collection, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in terms of honesty and integrity and a whooping 90% of urban dwellers considered corruption as a serious problem.

    The Central Regional Minister, Mrs. Ama Benyiwa Doe in a brief speech read on her behalf, said the quest for good and effective governance would be a reality if individuals uphold anti-corruption actions by enforcing transparency in all institutions.

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