Corruption reaches crisis level - CMaC

Corruption is no longer a perception, but a reality that has reached a crisis level in the country, Mr. Edem Senanu, Co-Chairman of the Citizens Movement Against Corruption (CMaC) has stated.

He said the act of corruption permeated all sectors of Ghanaian society ranging from paying bribes to securing admission to schools, to inflation of contract sums.

Mr. Senanu stated this in Tamale when making a presentation at the 2015 Regional Community-Based Organizations (CBO) Festival organized by the Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA), a non-governmental organization.

His topic was: "The Extent of Corruption in Ghana: Perception or Reality".

The two-day event, which ended on Thursday, was on the theme: "Towards a Corruption-Free Ghana: The Role of Civil Society".

It was to enable the CBOs, which is a network of community organizations operating under the GDCA in 17 districts of the Northern Region, to share information on issues affecting the development of their communities as well as learn strategies that were working elsewhere.

Mr. Senanu said the increasing levels of corruption in the country evidenced in the Corruption Perception Index by Transparency International and Afrobarometer Report by the Center for Democratic Development, Ghana, were affecting the development of the country.

He said the practice had become so pervasive that some children in the country were torn between acquiring right or bad ethics as they saw those with bad ethics amassing wealth to the detriment of those exhibiting right ethics.

He blamed the situation on the attitude of some Ghanaians that tolerated dishonesty as a way of life and failure to participate in the governance process by demanding answers from those in positions of trust.

He also cited lack of adequate anti-corruption institutions and policies as reasons for increasing levels of corruption in the country since perpetrators were always left off the hook.

He called for freedom of information law to empower people to demand information about public activities saying this would ensure transparency.

Alhaji Abdel Rahman Osman, Executive Director of GDCA, called for resourcing of anti-corruption institutions to empower them to work effectively to fight corruption in the country.