Mahama must deal with state looters - Christian bodies

The Christian Council of Ghana and the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council have called on the Mahama-led administration to get tough and punish officials indicted for looting state funds.

A communique issued by the two Christian bodies stated that merely asking people who have stolen from the public purse to resign or refund the funds is not an effective deterrent.

According to the Communique signed by Chairman of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, Apostle Dr. Opoku Oyinah and Chairman of the Christian Council Rev. Dr. Adu Asare “while the state increases taxes and the cost of its services to raise enough funds to run the country, huge amounts of money are being siphoned in dubious orchestrations in the public sector.

“Recent revelations of over Six Hundred Thousand Cedis (GHS600,000) Unaccounted for by MMDAs and the unquestioned ballooning of the USD40 million Achimota-Ofankor road project to USD 120 million are all signs that the nation is not achieving the targets of bringing corruption to the barest minimum as enshrined in the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP)”.

According to the communique the lack to check corrupt practices and punish state looters is fuelled by the lack of political will to bring perpetrators to justice.

The communique added that “the PAC, for instance, has over the years complained about the loss of state resources, which were uncovered by the Auditor General’s report. And yet those accused to be involved in the corrupt practices have not been brought to justice.

“It is now a mantra that one can steal from the public purse and when caught, one is either removed from post or asked to refund the money, which does not serve as an effective deterrence.

“The political, administrative, economic and social costs of corruption are grave to recount here. This notwithstanding, government’s inability to effectively combat the canker of corruption has led to the poor citizen being overtaxed and government borrowing to meet statutory obligations.

“We, therefore, urge the government to prosecute state fund looters to send a clear message that corruption will not and cannot be tolerated because corruption is a crime.”