President Akufo-Ado was wrong to suggest that citizens who make corruption allegations against his appointees should first provide evidence, the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has said.

This comes after the president said during Wednesday’s encounter with the media that he would only take allegations against his appointees serious if it is backed by evidence.

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Addressing concerns from journalists, the President said: “I have made it publicly known that anyone who has information about acts of corruption against any of my appointees should bring it forward and should be prepared to back it up with evidence.”

However, the CDD has criticized President Akufo-Addo for taking such a stand.

According to Dr. Kojo Asante, who serves as a senior research fellow at the Centre, it is not the duty of citizens to provide evidence to allegations.

In his view, people have the right to allege if they smell something fishy from government appointees, but it will now be left with the appropriate institutions to take the matter up for further investigation.

"It should not be the duty of the citizen. Yes, people can allege, but then it should be a trigger for an investigation by the appropriate authorities to then come to a conclusion.

“That is our mandate, as citizens, to ensure that the public purse is protected, so if I come to you and allege that someone has done something, it is your job as the executive with the investigative body to go and investigate,” Mr. Asante said.

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He added that it is totally wrong to insist that people cough up evidence before they can make allegations.

According to him, such a move will only prevent whistleblowers from coming out with information that could be crucial in the fight against corruption.

“This is not some court of law where the person who alleges is the one that has to come and provide evidence and defend. This is a criminal matter

“So this insistence that people should bring evidence is wrong,”