Opinions of Monday, 16 October 2017

Columnist: Kofi Thompson

What exactly did Kwesi Aning say about the fight against corruption?

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One finds it pretty hard to believe recent news reports in sections of the Ghanaian media, which allege that the director of the Faculty of Academic Affairs & Research at the Kofi Annan International Peace-Keeping Centre (KAIPC), Dr Kwesi Aning, has advised President Akufo-Addo to focus on the fight against galamsey - and tackle the fight against high-level corruption later on. Amazing. One hopes that those news reports are "inaccuracies." They are rather odd - to say the least. Hmm, Oman Ghana - eyeasem o: asem kesie ebeba debi ankasa.

The question is: Why would a well-known academic who is also said to be a security expert, and therefore ought to understand clearly the threat posed to the stability of our nation and the long-term survival of Ghanaian democracy, by egregious high-level corruption, advice an effective Ghanaian leader who has the political will to fight to root out high-level corruption from the system - such as President Akufo-Addo - to postpone the fight against the selfsame corruption slowly bleeding Mother Ghana to death?

What the Dr. Kwesi Anings in our homeland Ghana ought to do is to rather encourage President Akufo-Addo, his wife and offspring to publicly publish their assets - as a strategic move to enable him cement the special relationship he has developed with ordinary people in Ghana: and give him the moral authority to deal ruthlessly with all those in his government (and inner-circle) who succumb to the wiles of lobbyists and engage in corruption whiles in office.

If news reports that allege that Dr. Kwesi Aning has advised President Akufo-Addo to focus on the fight against galamsey first before tackling corruption turn out indeed to be accurate and not mere "inaccuracies," then that is most unfortunate.

Finally, the question is: What precisely did the KAIPC's Dr. Kwesi Aning mean in suggesting that the president should tackle corruption only after the fight against galamsey ends? If he actually did say so then he owes Ghanaians an immediate explanation. Full stop. Haaba.