By Yussif Ibrahim, GNA
Kumasi, March 05, GNA – The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) is rallying Ghanaians to stand up against the increasing monetisation of elections in Ghana to safeguard the country’s democracy.
The abuse and misuse of state resources as well as election-related corruption such as vote buying, according to the Coalition, poses serious threat to the country’s democracy, which must be protected collectively as a people.
Mrs Beauty Emefa Narteh, the Executive Secretary of GACC, who made the call, questioned the source of funding for some political actors who openly display opulence in their quest to assume public office.
She was speaking during radio engagements in Kumasi as part of a project on the topic, “Safeguarding Ghana’s Stability Against Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) Threats in 2024 Election.”
The radio engagements formed part of the project which seek to safeguard Ghana’s stability in the face of serious organised crimes ahead of the 2024 General elections.
It is being implemented by the GACC in collaboration with Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), and African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) with funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
As part of the project, GACC is engaging in series of public sensitisation activities to create awareness about the challenges posed by electoral corruption and SOC.
Mrs. Narteh said the project sought to make the citizenry understand the repercussions of electoral corruption and how SOC was creeping into elections at all levels of governance.
She said it was an open secret that people have been sponsoring political actors from their illicit businesses for the protection of their businesses when such people assumed public office.
She particularly mentioned how “galamsey” was destroying water bodies and the environment, yet perpetrators were hardly brought to book because they were well connected to the powers that be.
The Executive Secretary cautioned that the entire population would continue to suffer if steps were not taken to make source of funding for political parties transparent.
Funding from unknown sources during elections could potentially corrupt beneficiaries when they assume public office, she indicated.
She also spoke of the need for political parties to pay for the transportation of delegates during internal party elections to eliminate the temptation of candidates spending huge monies they may want to recoup after winning.
Mr Samuel Appiah Darko, Director for Strategy, Research and Communication at the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), said citizens had a role to in the fight against SOC.
He said it was important for citizens to question the source of income of people who became wealthy overnight in their communities.
The OSP, he noted, was committed to going after corrupt and fraudulent persons in society, but their work largely depended on voluntary of accurate information on perpetrators.
He assured the public of the protection of identities of informants, adding that, such people stood the chance of earning 10 per cent of any money successfully retrieved through the information they provided.
Mr. Darko further stated that the OSP was interested in sanitising all public elections by clamping down on corruption in the process to ensure fair play.
GNA