Kufuor's handling of corruption unacceptable - Mills

Accra, March 2, GNA - Professor John Evans Atta Mills, National Democratic Congress (NDC) Presidential Candidate said President John Agyekum Kufuor's handling of cases of corruption among his appointees was unacceptable.

Prof Mills said President Kufuor came to power on the bandwagon of an anti- corruption slogan and could, therefore, not say because there was corruption everywhere in London and Asia and since corruption dated from the period of Adam and Eve, it was all right to have corruption in his government.

"I don't accept the President's excuse of the history, morality and expediency of corruption as the reason for backing down on applying the zero tolerance policy on the many shocking allegations of corruption within his government."

Addressing a press conference on: "The State of the Nation, The Way Forward", the former Vice President said, "it is not the kind of rationalization that we expect from our President when Transparency International has placed our country 72 out of 133 countries on the World Corruption Index".

He pointed out that evidence now existed that there was corruption at the very heart of the Presidency and called for urgent attention to address it.

Prof Mills said there had been numerous allegations of corruption and scandals involving the President's men and women sitting on the President's desk unattended to.

He said the recent case involving a Deputy Minister in the President's Office was in a special category, and expressed regret that it was being treated as trivial.

He questioned why President Kufuor refused to take action against blatant cases of corruption in his government but was keen in pursuing others, which no case had been established against.

Prof Mills said when he assumed office next year, he would lead the war against corruption by personal example by imposing stringent rules even on his own family, friends and close associates.

"I will make no excuses for corrupt Ministers and officials. I will strengthen the state anti-corruption institutions, make them independent of political control and free them from political manipulation."

He said this way the institutions would be even handed in their application of the law to bring about renewed public confidence in them.