Stakeholders trained to fight corruption

A workshop aimed at sensitising stakeholders on the institutional and legal framework to fight corruption on Thursday ended at Zebilla in the Bawku East District.

It was meant to encourage participants to advocate and engage with policy makers such as Members of Parliament to help promote transparency and accountable governance.

The workshop was organised by the Ghana Integrative Initiative (GII) with support from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) as part of its efforts at increasing public participation in governance.

The 50 participants included women groups, Persons with Disabilities, the Ghana Police Service, Custom Exercise and Preventive Service, Immigration Services, traditional rulers, opinion leaders, political heads, heads of decentralised departments and the media.

They were sensitised on the need to see corruption as a threat to national development and help to find a lasting solution to it.

Ms Seyram Awushie Agbemenya, Senior Research Programme Officer with the GII, said the act of seducing someone to act in a way that would not favour society was wrong and there was the need for the citizenry to stand up and fight it.

She condemned the act of channeling resources from government accounts into individual accounts, saying it was the reason why uniform development in the country had not been achieved.

She entreated the participants to be actively involved in decision-making as it was the only way to create transparency and accountability in the country.

Mr Dominic Akugre, the Bawku West District Director, National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), said the workshop would serve as an avenue to empower the citizens to pursue corruption related complaints and boost their interest in the fight against it.

He urged the participants to take the programme seriously since it would enlighten them on the national anti-corruption institutions and their roles and policies to aid the fight of corruption.