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OFFINSO N: Let’s join hands to fight corruption- Nana Hemaa

The Queen mother of the Nkenkaasu traditional area, in the Offinso North District of the Ashanti region Nana Yaa Pokuaa has indicated that the fight against corruption can be won if there is a concerted effort from all fronts, including the ordinary Ghanaian.

Date Created : 12/4/2019 5:02:52 AM : Story Author : Emmanuel Buorokuu/Ghanadistricts.com

According to her, the fight could not be left for state institutions only because it ought to be uprooted from the very basic unit of the society to drive the progress of the country, adding that every Ghanaian had a major role to play.

Speaking at a forum on public accountability and governance organized by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), in collaboration with Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), at Nkenkaasu in the Offinso North district, She said “we will have ourselves to blame as Ghanaians for the increase in corruption if we fail as a people to play our respective roles to assist anti-graft agencies with information to nip corruption in the bud”.

She observed that the fight against corruption had become very difficult over the years and said if it was not dealt with today, it would slow down the growth and development of the country in the future.

The Queen Mother stated that “It is important that Ghanaians rise against all forms of corruption which have permeated many sectors of the economy to save particularly the country’s limited resources from dissipation.

Nana Yaa Pokuaa, who chaired the programme, therefore, called for an all-hands-on-deck approach towards tackling the canker of corruption since, if not addressed, would have dire consequences on the progress of the country.

Speaking on “Anti-Corruption laws in Ghana; focusing on the whistle Blower’sAct2006, A senior Principal Investigator of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr. Samuel Asante Yeboah, encouraged Ghanaians to report alleged corrupt acts to protect state funds from finding its way into the hands of corrupt individuals.

According to him, the Whistleblower Act (Act 720), which was passed by Parliament in 2006, has not been used effectively by the citizenry saying that the Act is to help improve the nation’s ability to fight corruption and other forms of unlawful conduct that negatively affect the country’s development.

He noted that the citizenry had a vital role to play towards reducing corruption in every sector of the economy, adding “I, therefore, wish to encourage you to take advantage of the Whistleblowers Act to report corrupt dealings at various workplaces to quicken investigations into such acts”.

Mr. Asnate Yeboah stressed that the issue of corruption had gradually become part of the Ghanaian life and said it was totally unacceptable for an individual to pay a bribe or an inducement before receiving a service.

Mr. Asante Yeboah, therefore. Said there was the need to bring all the stakeholders on board to assess public knowledge on the issue.

He said, “What is worrying is the fact that it has been accepted as a normal practice that one has to pay before gaining admission into schools, winning contracts and gaining employment, among others things”.

He called on the citizenry to be active and take keen interest in the administration of the country to ensure that duty bearers made good use of the scarce national resources for the benefit of the masses.

Given the overview of the workshop, the Zonal Project Officer of Advocacy and Legal Advice Center (ALAC), Mr. Osei Bonsu Annig said the event was to create a platform for rural women to understand the manifestations of corruption, how it affects them and the role they can play to combat it vis-à-vis the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan.

He, therefore, urged them to use the knowledge they acquired at the workshop as a basis to report any corruption act in their communities.

“It would be in the interest of the entire populace if corruption in all aspects of the economy is reduced to the barest minimum,” he said, adding that Ghana would be the ultimate beneficiary if corruption was dealt with decisively.