General News of Thursday, 9 October 2014

Source: peacefmonline.com

Changing gov't's is not the solution to corruption - Kweku Baako

Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Kweku Baako Jnr. has sought to debunk claims that the Mahama-led administration is infested with corruption and a deluge of failed institutions.

Contributing to Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" programme, Kweku Baako argued that corruption is somehow not a legacy of the ruling NDC government.

According to him, several governments including previous Kufuor government have all tried their hands at total eradication of corruption from the nation but it has eventually come to naught.

He recounted that none of the predecessors can claim they have not recorded cases of corruption during their administration.

To Kweku Baako, corruption still remains the "headache" of every government and so, advised the ruling party to set up the right systems to minimize its impact on the economy.

He proposed that as part of measures to fight this canker, governments should acknowledge that corruption is a huge problem and therefore endeavour to resolve it.

He intimated that it should be dealt with holistically, "otherwise a change in government will not help."

Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi, Mr. Baako stated emphatically that the government should "set up deterrent systems that will make people know that it’s a high-risk business…Corruption is worrying us.”

“Corruption has no political colour. Corruption is not peculiar to any one particular administration since Ghana’s independence, even pre-independence. And corruption; all governments have tried to fight corruption in different ways varying successes but it’s still a major threat to our development.”

He however commended the Mahama administration for taking some pragmatic steps to nip the problem in the bud.