The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) has raised concerns about what it describes as the weak empowerment of state law enforcement and prosecutorial bodies in tackling corruption in the country.
According to the coalition, institutions responsible for investigating and prosecuting corruption are often unable to act decisively, especially when alleged wrongdoing involves appointees of a sitting government.
Instead, they said accountability efforts tend to surface only when a new administration takes over.
The concerns come shortly after Ghana moved up one place to 76th out of 182 countries on the latest Corruption Perception Index, scoring 43 out of 100.
Despite the marginal improvement, the country has largely stagnated in recent years.
According to a report on myjoyonline.com, the Head of Monitoring and Evaluation at GACC, Solomon Yankah, believes meaningful progress can only be achieved if institutions are allowed to function independently and effectively.
“We shouldn’t see this post-regime accountability if our institutions were working. The President can now ensure that all the institutions are working, so that, irrespective of whoever comes after him, the institutions will be up to task. It shouldn’t be something that the NDC or NPP administration will leave before we start chasing a few people,” he noted.
The coalition made these remarks during a one-day zonal capacity-building workshop organised in partnership with the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) and Transparency International.
The report said the event brought together civil society groups, the media, and other stakeholders to deepen understanding of the Auditor-General’s Report and the CitizensEye App, a digital tool launched in 2019 to promote accountability.
Reaffirming the coalition’s stance, Yankah urged collective action in the fight against corruption.
“We [GACC] are committed to strengthening accountability and good governance. Together, let’s demand accountability from duty bearers,” he admonished.
By: Ghanaweb
Discussion about this post