Cape Coast, March 3, GNA - A 24-member Working

Group comprising representatives of government, parliament,

private sector, civil society and judicial service has rolled out a

10- year action plan to implement strategies to reduce

corruption in the country. Consequently, a one-day stakeholders' consultation and

workshop to collate views and suggestions was held at Elmina

to help establish and coordinate a systematic approach of

developing a National Anti Corruption Plan (NACAP) which

would help enforce laws to ensure financial accountability and

eliminate loopholes in the country's legal act. It was facilitated by the Commission For Human Rights and

Administrative Justice (CHRAJ). Speaking at the Workshop Mr. Joseph Whittal, the Director

of Legal Investigations of CHRAJ, said although corruption all

over the world was a threat to the moral, political, economic

and social wellbeing of people, efforts to fight it over the years

had failed because it did not effectively delve into the root

causes of corruption. He mentioned some of the problems of corruption as

economic, political, social and cultural factors as well as the

weak enforcement of laws and regulations, weak institutions

and lack of political commitment or will to fight corruption. According to him, a research by Transparency

International (TI) showed that 31% of Ghanaians considered

political parties very corrupt and cited the recent payment of

exorbitant filing fees by political aspirants as a factor in

deepening the country's political woes and destroying the hope

to see an end to political corruption. It revealed that there had been 63% instances where

security agencies had demanded bribes before providing

services and another 32% instance where bribes had been paid

for acquisition of permits and license. He accused the private sector for contributing and

facilitating corruption in the country adding that a report by a

World Bank Survey showed that 39% of private firms make

informal payments to public officials while 61% give gifts to

secure government contracts. He said a recent survey by Ghana Integrity International

(GII) showed that Ghanaians had low rating for state agencies

like the security, revenue collection, Metropolitan, Municipal

and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in terms of honesty and

integrity and a whooping 90% of urban dwellers considered

corruption as a serious problem. The Central Regional Minister, Mrs. Ama Benyiwa Doe in

a brief speech read on her behalf, said the quest for good and

effective governance would be a reality if individuals uphold

anti-corruption actions by enforcing transparency in all

institutions.