Demonstrate commitment to fight against corruption. Political parties challenged
Civil society groups engaged in anti-corruption activities have challenged political parties and presidential candidates to demonstrate their commitment to the fight against corruption.
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They can do this by incorporating into their manifestos plans to address the legislative gaps in the anti-corruption laws.
According to the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) Consortium, comprising GII, Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) and SEND Ghana, there were some weakness in the anti-corruption laws which needed to be addressed.
They have, therefore, presented letters to the various political parties detailing the list of legislative gaps and proposed actions, which, when implemented, would contribute immensely to the fight against the canker.
At a press conference in Accra last Tuesday, the Chief of Party of the Consortium, Mrs Linda Ofori-Kwafo, said corruption was having a heavy toll on the country’s economy and, politics and retarding national development.
Efforts against corruption
She said over the years, the legal framework against corruption had been strengthened and efforts made to simplify many bureaucratic procedures in order to make the government more efficient and reduce the risks of corruption.
She said several anti-corruption bodies had been established since the 1990s such as the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the Public Procurement Authority and the Policy Evaluation and Oversight Unit.
Additionally, Mrs Ofori- Kwafo said, Ghana’s Parliament had passed many laws and signed a number of international and regional anti-corruption conventions.
Despite these efforts, she said, there were still important gaps in the legal framework and the country continued to face corruption challenges, adding that “the impunity with which some public officials were engaging in corruption is very worrying”.
