Tema-Ghana, Aug. 31, – Ghana had consistently fallen below 50 points on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) table, which clearly indicated that the corruption fight in Ghana was not advancing, according to Mrs. Beauty Emefa Narteh, Executive Secretary, Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC).
“If you look at the statistics, I am embarrassed to say that currently we have normalised corruption in a way. If you look at the CPI, we have not done well. If we were students, we would have been seen as average students,” she stated.
The Executive Secretary of GACC said that although people claim the CPI was not actual, the results of other surveys and research still portrayed that the country was slacking back in its efforts.
Mrs. Narteh said this as part of the project “Is the fight against corruption in the fourth republic a mirage or reality? and share perspective on the GACC project dubbed “Building Evidence for Increased Accountability in Ghana through a Multi-Stakeholder Accountability Initiative”.
She lamented that the selfish attitude of some Ghanaians would not help in the journey of fighting corruption in the country because corruption happens because citizens are also happy when they are beneficiaries of the corruption act. “So when I benefit from it, it’s not corruption, but if she benefits from it, it’s corruption”.
She cautioned the youth to rise against the menace, as they would be the future bearers of the current corruption that has been piled down, stressing that the youth needed to be active citizens.
Mrs. Narteh also called for proactive leadership and commitment in the fight against corruption.
She said the move needed to be backed by resources and prosecution to clearly make the fight feasible.
Mrs. Narteh mentioned that prosecution has always been a major challenge in the country because there have been several reports of corruption, but jailing offenders is rare.
She explained that GACC in collaboration with its Local Accountability Networks (LANets) with funding support from William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is commemorating the 2023 African Anti-Corruption Day in 31 districts across 14 regions in Ghana.
Mrs Narteh noted that this year’s African Union Anti-Corruption Day is centered on sensitizing and training the youth to increase their knowledge on corruption and their role against corruption.
It also seeks to harness public advocacy toward the International Anti-Corruption Day slated for December 9th. The event seeks to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of the Convention in combating and preventing it. The Convention entered into force in December 2005.
She said until all stakeholders commit holistically to the fight against corruption, all efforts would amount to only scratching the surface of corruption instead of winning the fight against it.
