Gov’t appointees are being “intellectually disingenuous” – IEA

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has described as “unfortunate” and “intellectually disingenuous” reactions from some government appointees who have decided to “run down” its recent survey which named the Office of the President as the second most corrupt institution in Ghana.

A research fellow at the IEA, Dr. Ransford Gyampo in an exclusive interview with TV3 indicated that instead of government appointees and other policy makers asking for a copy of the survey report and studying it critically before responding, they out-rightly condemn it without reason.

Government, moments after the IEA released the survey results with a sample size of 1,200 respondents came out with a statement signed by Communications Minister, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah “rejecting the results.

The government statement said “Government has rejected a report quoting the IEA as saying that the Office of the President is the second most corrupt…. Government strenuously rejects any such suggestion that the Office is corrupt, let alone being the second most corrupt institution in Ghana.

“The practice where groups or organisations purport to conduct polls and through a visceral approach publish their outcomes in a manner that seeks to create the impression of corruption does little to advance the fight against corruption”, the Minister stated.

Reacting to government's response, Dr. Gyampo said “I am quite disappointed because elsewhere, policy makers would throng to the IEA secretariat and get copies of the survey result and they can interrogate the methodology, the sampling frame and also look at the report and if they have issues with it, they can disagree.

“But what is worrying is that you have a crop of young policy makers, ministers and deputy ministers who haven’t made it a point to even take a look at the report…. They haven’t seen the report yet they are running it down and they are tagging the IEA as being in bed with one political party” he added.

The research fellow with IEA further indicated that “It is unfortunate. It’s becoming a trend in our body politic that if you conduct a survey or you speak your mind, then you are tagged as an attempt to cow you into submission, as an attempt to silence you. Unfortunately such attitude and posturing is intellectually disingenuous and pathetic.”