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Mr Jonny Osei Kofi (right) shaking hands with members of the NEAC and MINICOM committees after inauguration.

‘Government committed to fighting corruption’

A Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr Jonnny Osei Kofi, has said government was committed to the fight against corruption in the country.

He said the government’s commitment had been shown by policy directives and initiatives in the fight against corruption.

These were the enabling legal frameworks and administrative actions to back the anti-corruption drive.

Mr Osei Kofi said this on behalf of President John Mahama at an inaugural ceremony of the National Ethics Advisory Committee (NEAC) and the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP) Monitoring and Evaluation Committee in Accra last Tuesday.

Inaugurating the committees, he emphasised the urgency of all getting involved in the fight against corruption by saying, “the time to get involved is not now, it was yesterday.”

Committees

Delivering the welcome address, the acting Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Richard Quayson, explained that the two committees were, “part of structures for enhancing integrity in the Ghanaian society.”

Giving a brief of past efforts that had culminated in the inauguration of the two committees, the Acting Commissioner said that in 2006, guidelines on conflict of interest were developed to guide public officials in the promotion of integrity.

It was followed up in 2009 with the development of Codes of Conduct for Public Officers of Ghana, with the code aimed at promoting integrity, probity, accountability and transparency.

An enforcement mechanism in the code provided for the establishment of the NEAC, which would, among other functions, formulate a long-term plan for promoting high ethical standards in public service and generally promote high ethical standards among public officers.

The functions of the NACAP Monitoring and Evaluation Committee include developing plans for monitoring and evaluating the plan and generating progress reports.

Mr Quayson expressed the hope that the country would do things differently, including resourcing anti-corruption institutions, if the fight against corruption was to yield any results.

He also expressed his gratitude to the Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr Jonny Osei Kofi, for his personal commitment in the efforts of the anti-corruption campaign.

Members

Members of the NEAC are the Commissioner of CHRAJ, a representative of CHRAJ, the Chairman of the Public Services Commission or a representative not below a commissioner, the Executive Chairman of the State Enterprises Commission or a representative of a senior rank, a representative of the Attorney-General not below the rank of Chief State Attorney and the Head of the Office of the Civil Service or a representative not below the rank of a director.

The rest of the members are a representative of the Office of the President not below the rank of a director, a representative of the Judicial Service not below the rank of a high court judge, and one representative each from the Ghana Education Service, the Ghana Health Service, the Local Government Service, the Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry of Defence not below the rank of a director or its equivalent in the service.

The Acting Commissioner of CHRAJ, Mr Quayson and a Commissioner of the Public Services Commission, Mrs Janet Fofie, represented their institutions on the NEAC.

Some members of the NEAC also make up the NACAP Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, which would assist CHRAJ and the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) in the monitoring and tracking of the progress of the plan.

Writer’s email: [email protected]

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