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Stakeholders unhappy with high levels of corruption in the country

By
Albert Futukpor, GNA

Tamale, Dec. 11, GNA
– Participants at a forum to commemorate this year’s International
Anti-corruption Day in Tamale have expressed concern on the high levels of
corruption in the country and called for drastic measures to fight the canker.

They said corrupt
officials seem to be operating as a network and it has become a herculean task
to apprehend them, hence the need for stiffer punishments to curb the canker.

The forum, organised
by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) on Monday, was attended by religious
leaders and representatives from civil society organisations in the Northern
Region.

The International
Anti-corruption Day is marked on December 09, every year since the passage of
the United Nations Convention Against Corruption on October 31, 2003, to raise
public awareness on corruption and its effects citizens.

A recent
Afrobarometer survey has revealed that corruption has worsened in the country
compared to previous years.

Alhaji Abdul Razak
Saani, Northern Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic
Education, who gave the keynote address, called on religious leaders to always
speak the truth about developments in the country to help respond to
corruption.

Mr Nantomah Adam
Baani, Northern Regional Anti-corruption Focal Person at the Commission on
Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) complained that government was
constraining CHRAJ with resources, a situation, which was affecting its work.

Mr Baani said CHRAJ
lacks human and financial resources to execute its mandate under the
Constitution to respond to corruption and promote human rights, adding “We
rely on NGOs and development partners to support us to do our work”.

He called for
political will to adequately resource CHRAJ to carry out its functions to help
respond to corruption in the country.

Maulvi Abdul Jabar
Adam, Zonal Missionary, Ahmadiyyah Muslim Mission, Tamale called on Imams to
stop accepting sponsorships from politicians to embark on pilgrimage to Mecca
to perform Hajj.

He said accepting
such sponsorships from politicians put Imams in a difficult position to speak
the truth to politicians when the need arises.

GNA

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