Be mindful of gifts you give out - GACC to business

efua

June 19, 2016 4:58 PM

“We want to call on businesses to be mindful of the gifts they give out when they are engaging with public sectors," he said.

The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) has called on business entities in the country to adopt the principles of business integrity to avoid bribery allegations.

This call comes in the wake of the discovery that a Burkinabe contractor, Djibril Kanazoe, who has won a number of government contracts, gave President Mahama a Ford Expedition car as a gift.

Many groups have alleged that the gift was a bribe and raises conflict of interest concerns.

The minority in Parliament have already indicated this could be grounds for the impeachment of the president.

The acting executive secretary of GACC, Beauty Emefa Narteh told Pulse.com.gh that by taking on the principles of business integrity, commercial organizations will contribute to ensuring transparency in procurement and awarding of contracts.

“We want to call on businesses to be mindful of the gifts they give out when they are engaging with public sectors. This ensures that there is much clarity with their transactions with public institutions. They should apply the principles of business integrity in their dealings.”

Narteh believes that this will bring believability to the process and for competitors not to feel a need to also give “gifts” to steer contractual agreements in their favour.

“[This will ensure that] there is healthy competition and there is fairness in procurement and people who go through competitive bidding will have no doubt about the credibility of the process. So that they don’t think the other person who got it had influenced the process that is why they got the contract.”

Responding to the development, the government said the car, although intended for the president, has been added to “the vehicle pool at the presidency as per established convention and had nothing to do with the award of the contracts.”

The GACC had earlier called for the immediate passage of the Conduct of Public Officers Bill of 2013 by Parliament because it believes the when passed there will be clear rules for public holders about what how to conduct themselves when it is acceptable to receive gifts.

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