Ogyam Kwabena

The number of investigative committees set up by the Mills administration appears to confirm Mr. Mills’ campaign promise to end corruption in his tenure of office. Perhaps it is a good thing for Ghana that Mr. Mills’ action would finally bring to Ghanaians the evil of corruption and the attendant issues thereof, but will it?

Corruption has bedeviled Ghanaian socio-political life since the country attained independence from the British some 52 years ago. It would be recalled that one of the most prominent ministers in the CPP administration of Kwame Nkrumah was accused of purchasing a five thousand pound sterling golden bed in London. In spite of the media circus that this engendered, not even the Nkrumah government did much about it. I stand to be corrected but the minister, Krobo Edusei, to be precise, was bumped from his cabinet position to become the chief of state protocol making him even more visible in government. One could question the wisdom in the then president’s choices but that ended the matter until the government was ousted a few years later. Edusei would lose his house and the bed only after the military forcibly took over the administration.

The military governments that came after Nkrumah sought severally to tackle the issue of corruption but what was lacking mostly was their lack of the political will to carry out any meaningful policy to deal with the issue. At best, they would seize assets and property belonging to politicians only for expropriation. Soldiers would be seen living in residences and driving cars seized and no account made to anyone. To further ridicule the issue, the military governments themselves would end up worse than the civilian administrations they overthrew. The fact of the matter is that the military did not owe the people any mandate and could do whatever they pleased. Unfortunately Ghana politics would be defined by such arbitrariness for a considerably long time.

The one military government that sought to deal with corruption from a revolutionary perspective was the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council led by Jerry John Rawlings in 1979. A number of military officials who happened to hold high positions in the ousted government of the Supreme Military Council II of General Fred Akuffo were publicly executed. The NRC/SMC regimes in Ghana happened to be some of the most corrupt governments in the history of Ghana. Every sinew in the body politic of the country was immersed in corruption. While Ghanaians thought they had seen the last of a corrupt government, the worse was yet to come.

Because the AFRC stayed in power for such a short period, and because of the state of affairs that brought it to power, it still had some credibility with the people. Jerry John Rawlings used his short stewardship to establish his credentials as a man above his peers. He was perceived as incorruptible, honest and deeply patriotic. His second coming was given mixed reception. Some believed he needed to be given a chance, while others thought he was unwilling in the first place to hand over power to Liman. The only hope in Rawlings’ return was his avowed commitment to rid Ghana of corruption. Whether or not that could materialize is for posterity and Ghanaians to fathom.

Corruption became a veritable institution under the PNDC and the NDC. It came from the very portals of power and there is so much evidence to prove. State enterprises were purloined with little or no accountability. What probably fertilized the grounds for corruption in the government was mediocrity and ineptitude. Contracts and agreements reached between the government and foreigners were tainted with corruption. Kickbacks were offered and received and several projects were poorly executed – See Mabey & Johnson. The government of Ghana became the loser in almost any contract that was made between it and other parties both local and foreign. Imagine selling off seventy percent of the Tema ship yard to the Malaysians for $4.5 million only and the Ghana Films Corporation for a paltry $3 million. In some cases, like the gold refinery at Tarkwa, the investors took what they wanted and left the industry to rot. In other cases, like the Tema Shipyard and the Ghana Film Corporation, the investors are yet to put invest any more money in the businesses they purchased as provided in the agreements.

It was the NDC that set up – by constitutional fiat, of course – the anti-corruption institutions of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Committee for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the same government would ignore the findings of embezzlement and corruption made by the SFO against a number of ministers in the government with a white paper to exonerate them. What most Ghanaians thought the NPP government should have done was to thoroughly probe the NDC to permanently uproot the worm of corruption. Only a few cases would be prosecuted with many more left to fallow. The past government did not have the spine to pursue the rest.

If Kufuor would not prosecute the NDC culprits for fear of retribution, it thought wrong. Ghana@50 is being probed. There is a report of malfeasance in the Vodafone purchase of 70% of Ghana Telecom. There is an investigation into the imported Chinese buses for public transportation. As a matter of fact, the Mills administration is combing the Kufuor administration with a fine tooth comb find the skeletons in its cupboard. Ironically, even before it found he could find his feet, Mills’ government was embroiled in a situation. His sports minister, Alhaji Mubarak Muntaka was found culpable of embezzlement. He received only a tap on the wrist.

Ghanaians are yet to see what action the government is taking to deal with the government officials who were mentioned in the Mabey & Johnson episode. Of course Messrs. Sipa Yankey and Ato Quarshie have resigned from government, Baba Kamara, notably very prominent in the whole affair is, however, sent on his way to Nigeria to represent Ghana as high commissioner. In the meantime, reports from the Serious Frauds Office in Britain portend even more scandals involving some former NDC operatives. Any attempts to deal with corruption is always welcome. Ghana’s under-development could largely be attributed to corruption. Over the years our country has paid an inordinately high price. It has become endemic. It is in the highest places of government as well as the lowest places. It has become an acceptable way of life.

What the Mills government is doing now, if done with a genuine desire to rid the nation of corruption must not be limited to the Kufuor administration. Ghana@40, the sale of the state enterprises, and several others need to be investigated and sanctions placed where they deserve. As was done with the National Reconciliation Committee, probes must be set up beyond the NPP administration. After all injustices perpetrated in previous administrations before the PNDC were looked into and remedies found by the National Reconciliation Committee (NRC). Why should the same approach not be used to rid the country of corruption by this government? It can even reinforce reconciliation and relieve the country of the mutual suspicions held by the two major political parties. A serious civic education campaign against corruption needs to be initiated to increase the people’s awareness and responsibility to root out canker. Government must ensure that workers are compensated appropriately and adequately enough to meet the ever increasing cost of living. It is also important for government to make conditions in the country conducive for investment. Corruption in Ghana is an equal opportunity problem. No political party can claim immunity and non can remove itself from it.

What Mills is doing now is sheer retribution. Its likely effects does not augur well for the nation. It is selective and unfair and does nobody any good. Mills professes to be a humble God-fearing person. And fairness is the hallmark of humility and the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Mills has the chance now to act if indeed he is truly committed. Ghana would be better for it and he might leave a lasting legacy.