By Lawrencia Akoto Frempong
Tema, Oct. 5, GNA – The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) has called on African governments to demonstrate high levels of intolerance to acts of corruption and upscale efforts to deal with all people involved.
Mrs Beauty Emefa Nartey, the Executive Secretary of GACC, speaking at the Ghana News Agency’s Industrial News Hub Dialogue in Tema, said the Coalition was fighting against the detrimental effects of corruption, which impeded economic development and growth, eroded public trust, and made it difficult to enact laws to decide cases.
She said it was important for African governments in general, and Ghana in particular, to strengthen the rule of law to deal with corruption and related issues.
“The Government must prove that it does not tolerate corruption, meaning that any individual in public office with allegations of corruption hanging around his or her neck should not be part of the government’s workforce,” she said.
Mrs Nartey noted that the moment the President signaled the resignation of a corrupt official, other public officials would become alert to their actions and be transparent in their dealings.
“Some instances of corruption may contain about 99 per cent fabrications and one per cent truth, however, the one per cent truth should not be tolerated because the Sustainable Development Goals indicate a zero tolerance of corruption.”
She, therefore, called on the Government to signal or demonstrate intolerance against corruption and help fight it before the general election in 2024.
Mrs Nartey said enforcement of the rule of law formed a crucial component in combating and eliminating corruption, especially by enhancing state cooperation in criminal proceedings.
She expressed concern that Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perception Index indicated that “there is corruption everywhere,” while the Afrobarometer report also painted a bad image of corruption in the country with less efforts to fight it.
Mr Francis Ameyibor, the Tema Regional Manager, GNA, called for a media paradigm shift in the fight against corruption and urged media practitioners to change their tactics, through naming and shaming, to make a meaningful impact on the fight against the menace.
GNA