THE GHANA Integrity Initiative (GII) in partnership with the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has organised a seminar on reporting corruption in the country for representatives of media houses in Kumasi.
The seminar which was on the theme, “Reporting Corruption: Our contribution to building a just and democratic Ghana” was chaired by Mr Kweku K. Apeadu-Baah, a clinical psychologist.
It was aimed at deepening the understanding of the participants on the nature, causes, manifestations and effects of corruption on the society as a whole.
It was to build the participants’ capacity to demand responsiveness, accountability and transparency from people and institutions in the country; and mobilise people to become anti-corruption monitors and crusaders.
Speaking on the ‘Effects of corruption on National Development in Ghana’, Mr George Amoah, Project Co-ordinator of Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre (ALAC ), said the battle on corruption in the country could only be won by the collaboration of all and sundry.
Mr Amoah said the country, “is not far from developed but only corruption is seriously holding us back. We haven’t defined corruption because as of now there’s no law that clearly warn people from getting into its claws”.
He described bribery as an exchange of favour between a briber and the bribed and mentioned cheating, tricks, embezzlement, nepotism, fraud, looting, petty and grand corruption and many more which all lead to highly placed individuals exploiting their positions to extract large bribes in return for favours.
He advised the public to be careful to vote for the right people and not those who bribe their way to the top.
Mr Amoah noted that a survey conducted in 2005 by a research team showed that about 87 per cent of Ghanaians are reluctant to report issues of corruption because they were not certain something will be done about it and called on people who become victims of corrupt practices to call on ALAC Ghana, which seeks to provide the avenue for people and corporate bodies to lodge their complaints with the appropriate institutions for redress.
He directed aggrieved citizens to refer their complaints to established agencies, such as CHRAJ, Serious Fraud Office (CFO), Police Intelligence and Professional Standard Bureau, BNI, National Security and others to better handle cases of corruption.
Mr Joseph Maxwell Apeagyei, Senior Principal Investigator, Anti-Corruption Focal-person, Ashanti Region, said Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the local chapter of Transparency International, sought to educate the Ghanaian public on the negative effects of the canker of corruption and the need to curb it.
He urged the public to demand transparency and accountability from office holders, and called for networking among governmental and community-based organisations to enhance efficiency and transparency in governance.
No comments:
Post a Comment