'Auctioneering our elections': Drug lords, terrorists could fund politicians - Domelevo warns

In Ghana, the election year is an auction year for public positions, former Auditor-General, Daniel Yaw Domelevo, has said.

“We are in an election year, which I term auction year. We are auctioning public offices. So, the highest bidder wins the auction at the end of the day," Mr Domelevo said at the maiden edition of the Leadership Ethics Seminar in Ho, Volta Region, organised by the Africa Ethics Institute.

"If we don't look at this auctioning of public offices seriously, what may happen is that, very soon, we will have people who are drug pushers funding our election and, so, it will compromise our integrity," he warned.

"It is also possible that terrorists will fund our politicians into office, and we will be in trouble,” he added.

In his view, corruption has eaten into the system so much that it is now a religion.

He is advocating the establishment of an efficient public financial management system and fiscal decentralisation among other measures to eliminate corruption and protect the public purse.

Mr Domelevo also noted that Ghana's anti-corruption institutions were "too many" and called for their reorganisation and retooling for effectiveness.

He said, "commercialising" the fight against corruption, by allowing whistleblowers to work with anti-corruption agencies, would help the situation.

In addition, the anti-corruption campaigner wants the assets declaration law enforced strictly as well as the lifestyles of public officers audited because “Ghana needs ethical and transformational leaders”.