Corruption is Very Expensive - Pianim

Mr. Kwame Pianim, an Economist, has said corruption has reached its highest level and the Government must use the necessary tools to minimize it. "Corruption is expensive and needs to be minimized," he said.

Mr. Pianim said the President has accorded the fight against corruption, has necessitated bringing constitutional watchdog institutions such as the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Ghana Anti-corruption Coalition into the centre of the reform agenda.

He said the involvement of these watchdog institutions equippaed with adequate resources will make it possible to operationalize the "zero-tolerance for corruption" concept of the President. "The capacity to monitor, evaluate and detect financial malpractices in the public sector will bring an important weapon into the fight against corruption."

Mr. Pianim was delivering a lecture at the Public Services Commission Fifth Annual Lecture dubbed, 'Public Sector Reforms - The Strategic Role of Information in the Implementation Progress' in Accra last Wednesday.

Speaking on the topic: Transforming the Ghana Public Sector into a Business-Oriented Entity: Challenges and Prospects", Mr. Pianim said the deterrent effect of a high probability of being detected, prosecuted and punished has been identified as an important element in controlling acts of corruption. He said the involvement of civil society will add an invaluable and independent monitoring agent.

Mr. Pianim said the push to establish the Golden Age of Business is already bringing additional pressures for corruption and conflict of interest situations. "These make "zero tolerance" for corruption begin to sound like a take on the old "probity and accountability" refrain of the NDC days."

He said the attainment of the vision of the Golden Age of Business requires a very strong and focused role for the state and must be articulated and implemented in a disciplined and transparent manner.

"Procurement procedures should be clear and implemented in a transparent manner and divestiture of public assets should be effected on highest bidder basis without room for other non-commercial considerations."

Mr. Pianim said the challenge is how to transform the enormous goodwill of the international development partners, and the continued prayers of the good people of Ghana into sustained and accelerated growth.

"One thing is for sure; the Golden Age of Business will not materialize without significant injection of foreign capital and technical and managerial know how," he said.

He said a fully networked public sector with improved Statistical Service would help provide critically needed information for the monitoring and evaluation of performance as well as to provide information on the economy for interested investors.

A former Chairman of VALCO, Mr. J.V.L. Philips said the Public Service and the Civil Service in particular, in former days was praised for its exemplary credentials. It is now often lambasted for incompetence and poor performance; for perpetuating outmoded bureaucratic practices, for the lassitude of its officers and for various insensitivities towards the public. "Why is it that the superb image of earlier days has become so denigrated?" he asked.

He said if public servants perform their duties competently, as they are capable of doing, and if they implement the policies of the government of the day zealously and loyally in order to achieve the desired results, this adverse perception would be dissipated.