Coalition of Northern Ghana CSOs commends Special Prosecutor for investigations into suspected corruption and corruption-related offenses in Northern Development Authority

The Coalition of Northern Ghana Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) led by its convener, the Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NORPRA) has commended the Office of the Special Prosecutor for demonstrating a practical commitment to fighting corruption in Ghana by conducting investigations into suspected corruption and corruption-related offences in Northern Development Authority (NDA) in respect of a contract awarded to A & Qs Consortium services under the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme. The directive of the OSP to the Accountant and Controller General to freeze payment arising from the fraudulent contract of Ten Million Ghana cedis and the arrest of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NDA, his deputies, and an official from the Jubilee House are particularly commendable. As a Coalition working not only to influence increased public investment in northern Ghana for an accelerated socio-economic transformation of the area for the shared prosperity of all Ghanaians but also working to promote transparency and accountability in public resource management, it has a keen interest in the matter and therefore wishes to call on government, particularly his Excellency, the President of the Republic of Ghana and his Vice President to reassure the Ghanaian people of their determination and commitment to fight corruption by immediately giving a directive to the affected officials particularly the CEO of NDA, the two deputy CEOs of the NDA and any other suspect including those at the presidency to step aside for unimpeded investigations into the matter. In the view of the Coalition, the continuous stay of the accused officials has the potential of obstructing or impeding the smooth conduct of the investigations into their alleged corrupt acts and of course compromising the quality of the outcome of the investigations. As a matter of fact, northern Ghana is home to extreme poverty, food insecurity, and very limited employment opportunities. This situation certainly, without doubt, poses a serious threat to the country’s efforts made toward achieving Sustainable Development Goals. (SDGs). The Coalition, therefore, finds it regrettable that the northerner with the finest privileged opportunity to serve and lead his people out of poverty and general underdevelopment through public service would turn around to rob his own people of the much-needed poverty eradication programme. It is an undeniable fact that the quantum of money involved in this suspected corruption scandal was significant enough to provide poor and deprived communities with potable drinking water, farm inputs, health facilities, and many more life-transforming facilities in line with the NDA’s mandate of accelerating economic and social development in northern Ghana. Against this backdrop, it would only take a person with no sense of patriotism and love for humanity especially the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized groups to consciously engage in acts that seek to deepen poverty and vulnerability in a poverty-stricken area like northern Ghana. It is important to drop a hint here that the Coalition is currently compiling a lot of information on many more suspected corruption-related issues in NDA and will share it with the public through a press conference as soon as practicable. While using this opportunity also to commend the former CEO of NDA, Dr. Sulemana Anamzoya for his bold decision to petition the OSP on this matter, the Coalition, in view of the sad reality that, corruption has become so pervasive, endemic, and cancerous in public service. The generality of the Ghanaian society wishes to call on every Ghanaian especially anti-corruption agencies and crusaders to show much more interest in the issue and speak up to end the sustained efforts made by heartless individuals to promote corruption and deny the state of her effort to provide social and economic development to curb widespread poverty and deprivation in the country.