I am happy to have this opportunity to speak candidly on the issue of
corruption and the way it attempts to pervade every layer of our
society, from the political to the personal. Corruption takes an
enormous toll on the ability of a government to function effectively, on
the hopes and dreams of individual citizens, and, ultimately, on the
morale of an entire nation.
It is an issue that we all agree must be addressed aggressively but
in order to do that, we must also recognise that corruption is an issue
that must be defined and discussed responsibly.
Corruption has been high on the national agenda for many years; but
long before that, it was a central theme of gossip and rumours, public
finger-pointing and partisan acrimony. It has in our present day become
something of a political club that opposing parties use to beat each
other over the head with.
Since the time of Ghana’s First Republic, there has not been a single
president or presiding government that has not been accused of
corruption. This makes sense, given the history of post-independence
Africa and the pattern of behaviour that was set from country to country
by the governing elite; that pattern being win or seize power and then
“to the victor go the spoils.” And the losers, were the average
hardworking citizens, families, communities, and countries that, for
decades, were crippled by the greed of other people’s individual
self-interest.
Given this history, it makes sense that our citizens are often very
mistrustful of those in positions of power and access. And they have
cause to be. But times have changed; Africa has changed; Ghana, which
has also been no exception to the continent-wide syndrome of
seize-loot-and-leave, has changed.
Democratic governance, a free independent media, vigilant civil
society, bold anti-corruption institutions have all combined to check
the impunity with which corruption was perpetrated in the past. Pillars
of Good Governance are being erected, pillars that are firmly anchored
by the Rule of Law and a constitutional democracy. Strong anti-money
laundering legislation, an active Financial Intelligence to track
transfer of “dirty money” make it more difficult to hide the proceeds of
corruption. Nonetheless, corruption persists. It still persists, right
alongside those institutions, as though it is an institution in and of
itself.
The accusation of corruption against an individual is an easy one to
make. However, if we truly wish to rid our societies of this cancer,
then we must start talking about it rationally, realistically and
responsibly. Over the years, we have seen different governments take
measures to fight the corruption that exists within. Sometimes those
measures were drastic; people were shot dead, jailed, or censured.
Sometimes those drastic measures were indeed effective, but by and large
they were not viable long-term solutions.
In other words, corruption, when defined not as the action of a
single individual but as an institution, cannot be fixed with ad hoc
knee-jerk reactions. It takes an approach that is also systemic; an
approach that focuses on education as much as punishment; an approach
that encourages a societal abhorrence for corruption on any level. It
takes sustained vigilance.
It also takes transparency, accountability and leadership—all of
which, as President, I am committed to giving our nation and our
people.
I do this not because it is required of me as President. I do this
because I am first and foremost a Ghanaian—and like any other Ghanaian
from Bawku to Berekum, from Kumasi to Axim—it is my civic duty.
Ghanaians are no longer satisfied with palliatives and long-winded
statements, or with one-off solutions that do not address the problem as
something systemic. We want, and we need, action now. We need action
to curb the corruption that currently exists and we need action to
prevent corruption from flourishing and impeding our national progress.
Over the years, I have made several appeals to the institutions
responsible for fighting corruption to promptly investigate allegations
of corruption and taking swift action to honor the public's trust in
them. We know our institutions are weak and are facing major challenges.
They lack adequate manpower, expertise and resources. However, for our
institutions to remain relevant, they must show that they are doing the
maximum they can with the little they have.
As a Ghanaian, I share the anxiety and frustration that our people
are expressing every day. There can be no justification for any official
or public employee to take advantage of the weaknesses in the
institutions they are to serve in to facilitate the crimes they are paid
to prevent. Neither can there be any justification for blatant
institutional negligence.
Succeeding in the fight against corruption requires agencies in
various autonomous institutions -the executive, legislature and
judiciary- as well as, the general public to play their part and play it
well and we must think outside the box because the old ways will not
meet the expectations of our people.
As a people our ability to fight corruption is weakened and limited
when we entrust it to only the political elite or limit our social
responsibility only to talking about it. We need a paradigm shift.
I am of the strong opinion that the key to resolving the corruption
problem is strengthening our capacity to prevent, and where it has
already happened, detect, investigate, retrieve and successfully
prosecute.
Every corrupt act has multiple witnesses who may have nothing to gain
from it and are prepared to contribute to fighting it. So, we must
create the enabling environment that empowers such people to contribute
their quota. In essence, there is an urgent need to broaden the
framework for fighting corruption. We must break the syndrome of
sympathy for perpetrators who got caught, and muster the courage to
report acts of wrong-doing.
My Government is ready to engage the various independent
Anti-Corruption and Governance institutions, including the CHRAJ, EOCO,
etc. That is why, under the umbrella of the CHRAJ, we have developed and
adopted, at Cabinet level, this new anti-corruption instrument, the
10-year NACAP (2012-2021).
Let me take this opportunity to say a big THANK YOU to all of you for
your immense sacrifices towards the completion of this national agenda.
I am looking forward to a new partnership with the various institutions
and organizations you all represent.
Let me take this opportunity to appeal to our friends in the media,
all religious organizations, traditional leaders, and indeed, the entire
Ghanaian public, to see this new instrument as a window of opportunity
for us all to develop our country through a collective effort to tackle
the canker of corruption.
Two important instruments in the fight against corruption are still
pending in Parliament: One is the Right to Information Bill. I hereby
call on Parliament to treat this bill with the urgency it. I undertake
to give my assent expeditiously as soon as this bill is approved.
The other is the National Anti Corruption Action Plan (NACAP), which
work I had the privilege of commissioning while I was still the Vice
President. The NACAP spells out specific activities for sustained
transparency and anticorruption. The NACAP was laid in the house in
April and is currently awaiting adoption by Parliament. Here again I
call for urgent action by Parliament in the adoption of this plan.
Considering the extended period between the completion of NACAP and
its adoption, the budget of GHC65m that was proposed would certainly
need to be revalidated following its adoption by Parliament.
Government also signed up to the Open Government Partnership
Initiative. On the national action plan and implementation road map, we
have made progress in achieving many milestones in the 4 thematic areas.
On Transparency we are on track and work is ongoing on the Fiscal
Responsibility Bill. RTI bill is before Parliament. The PIAC is being
given every support and space to do its work. And we are working with
the CRC Implementation Committee to amend CHRAJ’s constitutional
provisions.
We believe issues of strengthening CHRAJ and effectively resourcing
it should be taken out of turn and dealt with. In the meantime I am
speaking with the Minister for Finance to, within the constraints of the
budget, increase funding to anti-corruption agencies.
Also, a percentage of proceeds of corruption when recovered should be paid to anti-corruption agencies to resources them.
On participation, the Minister for Local Government and rural
development and the Decentralization oversight C’tee are working on
processes to improve participation of not only CSO’s but all resident of
the district in the work of the Assemblies.
On Accountability, Cabinet has passed the Public Officers Code of
Conduct Bill and it is undergoing final redrafting before being laid in
Parliament.
On technology and innovation work is advanced on the E-Immigration
project. Work on GIFMIS has taken off and is progressing steadily.
We will also be launching an online complaints platform in the next few weeks.
I commit again to work hard to achieve the milestones we set ourselves in the initiative within the agreed 2013-2014 time frame.
However while awaiting the NACAP, RTI and other anti-corruption
instruments we cannot treat that as an excuse for any delay in our fight
against corruption. There are a few administrative actions that I have
taken to keep us marching forward in this mission, and I am happy to be
able to share them with you today:
I have instructed the Minister for Youth and Sports to:
- Suspend with immediate effect, all payments under all GYEEDA contracts, except the payment of arrears to workers up to the end of the year.
- Complete the review of all modules and accompanying contracts under GYEEDA by the 15th of December and, before 31st December 2013, to cancel all contracts that do not pass the “value for money” test.
- Place a moratorium on the creation of new modules under GYEEDA.
I have instructed the Minister for Justice and
Attorney-General/EOCO and the Minister of Finance to work with the
Minister for Youth and Sports to achieve the following by 31st December
2013:
- Secure refunds of monies wrongfully paid to or appropriated by any individuals or companies from contracts with SADA, GYEEDA, and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and to retrieve the monies wrongfully paid to Waterville and Isofoton;Initiate legal action against the individuals or companies to secure the refunds and/or to punish them for wrongdoing;
I just received this morning, an update from the boss of EOCO on
the status of their investigations. I have asked EOCO to make that
update known to the public in order for the public to know what action
is being taken.
I have instructed the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General to
expedite work on the GYEEDA Bill for submission to Parliament. The Bill
is expected to ensure proper oversight, efficiency in management of
GYEEDA. The bill must focus on decentralizing the program to ensure
local ownership and real benefits to our communities.
I have instructed the Minister for Finance and Minister for Justice
and Attorney General to review and advice on a suspension of the
contract with Subah Infosolutions seeing us the contract was not signed
by the appropriate authorized Government representative.
I have directed the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources to:
- Present a Plan within 2 weeks for ensuring transparency under the Accra Redevelopment Policy;
- In the spirit of transparency publish the names of all beneficiaries of the policy by the 16th of December 2013;
- Review all the transactions involved in the implementation of the policy within 3 calendar months from today; and
- Scrap the policy that allows public officers to purchase state bungalows allocated to them as official residences.
I have instructed the Chief of Staff, as of today, not to grant any
request by any government official to purchase any state vehicle that
was assigned to them for official use. Disposal of aged government
vehicles must be publicly and transparently done. A scheme is being
discussed under which Senior Public Officials will be able to acquire
their own vehicles under hire purchase from vehicle dealerships.
I have directed for the re-registration with GV number plates of all
Government vehicles to proceed in earnest and be completed by the 1st
quarter of next year.
As of last week, I have constituted a Committee which will determine
as one of the factors for the continuous stay in office of a Minister of
State or head of any government Department or Agency, an annual report
on the extent to which the recommendations of the Auditor-General’s
Report have been implemented in your MDA.
Under my instruction the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General
has submitted a first series of cases from the Auditor General’s Report
to EOCO for investigation and possible prosecution before the Financial
Tribunal
All MDAs must present justification for application for any sole sourcing to cabinet for scrutiny before submission to the PPA
Any contracts above GHC5m recurring in multiple budgets must be made
public through publication in the newspaper or on the new contract
management database portals to be launched soon.
I am awaiting anxiously the report of the Sole Commissioner on
Judgment Debts and pledge to deal firmly with the report when it is
presented.
Finally, I have requested the Minister in Charge of Government Business in Parliament to rally his colleagues in Parliament to:
- Ensure the quick approval of the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan;
- Ensure the early Passage of the Right to Information Bill;
- Ensure the passage of the Whistleblower (Amendment) Bill; and
- Ensure the passage of the Public Officers Code of Conduct Bill.
If we are to sustain this fight against corruption, I expect the
support and involvement of all Ghanaians. We must disrupt the status
quo and create a paradigm shift. We must create the sort of environment
in our society that empowers people to take a stand.
Every corrupt act has multiple witnesses. You may have had nothing to
do with it, and you may have nothing to gain from it, but you must be
prepared to contribute to fighting it. As citizens of this country each
of us has a voice, and each voice carries weight. What we say matters.
What we do matters.
Our ability to fight corruption is weakened when we entrust action to
only the political elite, and when we limit our social responsibility
to only talking and gossiping about it, making casual allegations and
ignoring our call to action. The more people who get involved in this
fight against corruption, the stronger our chances of success.
My government is determined to bring the maximum transparency and
accountability to the public processes that have been a fertile ground
for the germination and growth of corruption. If we stand side by side
in this and work in partnership—government agencies, private sector
businesses and organizations, as well as individual citizens working
within their communities—we will be able to bring an end to the
institution of corruption in this country and perhaps even serve as a
model for other countries on the continent to emulate. I look forward
to your cooperation.
Thank you for your kind attention.
Source: Presidency.gov.gh
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