Politicization of corruption and crime hinders fight against corruption

Wa, March 3, GNA - Mr. Charles Ayamdoo, a Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in charge of Anti-Corruption, said the politicization of crime and corruption, coupled with the lack of effective collaboration between the Anti-Corruption Agencies were adversely affecting the fight against corruption in Ghana He said corruption no matter how small it was, retarded the development of the country.

Mr. Ayamdoo said this during a Regional consultative workshop on the Development of Ghana's National Anti- Corruption Action Plan (NACAP) at Wa on Wednesday.

He said the NACAP was a 10-year plan aimed at reducing corruption in the country, adding that the workshop, therefore, sought to elicit public views on what should be included in the plan to enable it to achieve its purpose.

Alhaji Issahaku Salia, Upper West Regional Minister, said

Consultations on NACAP when completed and the document

ratified by Parliament, would ensure effective coordination of

efforts and judicious use of resources in the fight against

corruption. According to him, NACAP would also form the basis for

assessing the performance of government and its institutions

including the private sector as anti-corruption activities would

be integrated into their programmes and activities. Alhaji Salia said the fight against corruption was a national

issue which was why Vice President Dramani Mahama

inaugurated the National Working Group which together with

the CHRAJ would play a leading role in the development of

NACAP. He said Ghana had over the years demonstrated its

commitment towards combating corruption through the

ratification of the United Nations Convention Against

Corruption (UNCAC), the African Union (AU) Convention

and the ECOWAS Protocol on Corruption. In addition, it established Anti-Corruption Agencies such as

CHRAJ and the Economic and Organised Crime Office

(EOCO). Alhaji Salia said despite all these interventions, corruption

still thrived in Ghana, saying the development of NACAP was

therefore timely and necessary. The Regional Minister identified institutional weaknesses,

poor ethical standards, lack of transparency and

accountability, weak enforcement of laws and gifts among

others as some of the causes of corruption in Ghana. Alhaji Salia said corruption did not only mean giving and

accepting bribes but also included embezzlement, patronage,

conflict of interest, theft and fraud among others. He said the fight against corruption must be a top priority

for Ghana and that efforts must seek to make corruption a high

risk, low-gain activity to discourage people from engaging in

corrupt practices. The Regional Minister urged the participants to contribute

ideas towards the development of NACAP for national

development.