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5 easy ways to fight corruption
Though the 1992 Constitution provides a clear separation of powers and set up institutions to aid the fight against corruption.
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Corruption has been the bane of development of most African countries post-independence. And Ghana, sadly, finds itself in this unfortunate web.
Though the 1992 Constitution provides a clear separation of powers and set up institutions to aid the fight against corruption, results have been few and non-existent at most.
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This phenomena has run through all the governments that have been formed in the 4 Republic with only a few officials serving jail time for engaging in the practice.
The fight against corruption over the years has been more of rhetorics and campaign slogans for politicians rather than concrete actions.
However, for Ghana to accelerate its development and eventually cut itself from foreign aid, the fight against corruption must move from mere words to action-driven solutions.
To achieve this and restore Ghana to where our forebearers envisaged, these five (5) anti-corruption steps will help in achieving #TheGhanaWeLove
In his maiden visit to sub-Saharan Africa as President of the United States of America, Barack Obama in 2009, said, in Accra: “Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions”.
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Strengthening of state institutions tasked to fight corruption has been an afterthought by most Ghanaian leaders. Yet, it should be the topmost priority in the quest to fight this canker.
Logistics at these institutions are non-existent at most, and officers are poorly paid and less motivated to go after corrupt officials.
Equipping state institutions like CHRAJ, EOCO and the recently established Special Prosecutor’s office with modern tools will increase their proficiency in dealing with corrupt cases.
It has been a long held notion that big political figures get away with little or no punishment when tried on corruption charges. But for past cases to serve as deterrents, punishments have to stiffer.
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Therefore, an independent and fearless judiciary is very instrumental if Ghana is to fight corruption to its barest minimum.
The Ghana Police service in a lot of instances, over the years, have had to bend the rule to suit certain political figures.
Prosecution powers therefore should be solely based with the Attorney General’s Department in corruption trials.
The Right to Information Bill was first drafted by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) twenty-two years ago. And though it has gone through various amendments by the executive arm of government, it is yet to be passed into law.
And the importance of the passage of the RTI Bill into law in the fight against corruption cannot be underemphasized.
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The RTI Bill, when passed, is expected to make information easily accessible by the media and Ghanaians.
And in the words of the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the passage of the bill is important in his government’s quest to fight corruption.
He said, "One major milestone that we have reached in the fight against corruption as a government is transparency in the terms of good governance.”
Ex-President John Agyekum Kufour once said, “corruption is as old as Adam”. Therefore, corruption did not start with Africans and Ghanaians for that matter.
But for a Ghana we can all love and project, corruption should be nipped in the bud.
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