Tema-Ghana, Sept. 13, CDA Consult – The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) has encouraged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to hasten the process for the passage of the Conduct of Public Officers Bill in order to support the fight against corruption in Ghana.
“We are no more interested in assurances; we need direct action on the passage of the bill,” the Executive Secretary of the GACC, Mrs. Beauty Emefa Narteh, stated in response to President Akufo-Addo’s pronouncement at the opening of the Ghana Bar Association convention on Monday in Cape Coast in the Central Region.
President Akufo-Addo declared that the government was striving to pass the Conduct of Public Officers Bill.
The Attorney-General had had several stakeholder discussions with a number of public sector groups, civil society organizations, and others, the President said.
At the beginning of the Ghana Bar Association’s 2023 Bar Conference, he made the announcement.
Mrs. Narteh, during an appearance on the Ghana News Agency-Tema Industrial News Hub Boardroom Dialogue forum on corruption, said the President must provide Ghanaians with the timeframe for the enactment.
The GACC Executive Director noted that the bill has been pending for some time as a result of the various governments’ failure to get it into law.
The President’s announcement that the bill will now be brought to cabinet also caused her anxiety, which she expressed.
She pointed out that the president’s denials are confusing the civil society organizations pushing for its passage because the public was informed that the measure was already before the cabinet.
She said that given how heavily he ran his campaign for president on it, it would be an indictment on him if the measure was not enacted before the president’s term ended.
She proceeded by noting that if the bill could be approved in combination with other measures, rather than merely giving the issue lip service as is increasingly typical, it would show the President’s commitment to fighting corruption in Ghana.
The President stated that the bill would follow precedents established by other nations, including the United States Ethics in Government Act of 1978, the Public Officers Ethics Act of Kenya of 2003, and the United Kingdom Constitutional and Governance Act of 2010. These acts addressed concerns about financial portfolios held by public officers prior to taking office.
When the bill is passed into law, it will also address issues like family business ties among public officials, improper enrichment, maintenance of public property, professional conduct, ownership of real estate, investments, and other assets, self-dealing, partiality in the performance of duties, and the use of private information for personal gain.
