By Dennis Peprah
Yawhima (Bono), Aug.12, GNA – Families at Yawhima in the Sunyani Municipality of the Bono Region have expressed concern about the growing demand for ‘sex for jobs’ in some public institutions and establishments.
They called for urgent the intervention of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to bring the situation under control.
Mrs Comfort Bediako, a trader, raised the concerns at a public forum on corruption, organised by the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) at Yawhima.
Other women participants who spoke during an open forum shared similar sentiments, describing the situation as a worrying trend in some public establishments.
Throwing more lights, some families who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of the forum said some heads of public institutions, had been sexually harassing their daughters, with a promise to secure them jobs after their national service.
Madam Beatrice Tulaasi, a farmer, said her daughter confessed to the family about the countless sexual harassments she went through in the hands of her superiors during her national service.
She expressed worry that because her daughter did not give in to those sexual demands, she was now left in the house exploring for job opportunities after her national service.
Responding, Mr Johnson Mawuli Tsagli, the Bono Regional Administrator of the CHRAJ, urged the families to remain bold and report those heads of institutions to the commission for further investigations.
He described the situation as a form of corruption and unacceptable, and advised female employees who experienced sexual harassment to open up and report to the commission.
Mr Tsagli called on the public to play an active role in the tackling corruption by holding duty bearer and public officials accountable.
He emphasised that the fight against corruption remained collective responsibility and advised every Ghanaian to play their part, saying that the government and anti-corruption institutions could not shoulder that responsibility alone.
Mr Tsagli also touched on the giving of gifts to especially public officials and duty bearers, and advised the public to refrain from such practices.
He said that though giving and receiving of gifts were not wrong, doing so bred corruption, indicating that the practice could influence duty bearers and public officials in their judgments and decision making.
Earlier in a welcoming address, Miss Pamela Laourou, an Assistant Communications Officer at the GACC regretted that corruption remained the bane of the nation’s development, hence the need for the forum to sensitise the masses and its attendant consequences.
She explained that the forum was in line with the implementation of the “Strengthening Accountability, Rule of Law and Institutional Responsiveness in Ghana” (SARIS) project.
It was attended by attended by chiefs and queens, market women and traders, faith-based organisations, students and anti-corruption actors and institutions.
The SARIS project is funded by the European Union (EU) in Ghana and is being implemented across 24 districts, seeking to strengthen the watchdog role of civil society organizations while supporting advocacy for reforms aimed at improving Ghana’s integrity systems.
It is led by CDD-Ghana, in collaboration with the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) and Transparency International Ghana (TI Ghana).
GNA
Edited by Christabel Addo
Reporter: Dennis Peprah
Email: [email protected]