We must deal with corrupt officials decisively
The fight against the twin evil of bribery and corruption is Herculean. Every government promises to tackle it but achieves very little success. We say so because since the Fourth Republic, no government has been able to prosecute a single act of malfeasance or corruption as captured in the Auditor-General’s Report.
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It has always been a litany of excuses or reasons why monies are misapplied or misappropriated when public officials, including Ministers of State, appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament.
Just recently, the PAC sat and the responses of some public officials who appeared before it were laughable to say the least.
These officials were bold to tell Ghanaians why state vehicles, for instance, were auctioned as low as GH¢300 and we did not see any sign of remorse on their faces.
The Daily Graphic is always worried when reports of wanton loot of state resources are made public without the government taking steps to retrieve and prosecute the offenders.
Although we all talk about the harm corruption is causing the economy of the country, there is lack of political will to deal with it.
In Ghana, corruption is not a high-risk venture. It is the easiest way by which public officials amass wealth and stash same in private bank accounts across the globe.
The tragedy of our times is that while individuals steal state money for their personal gain, majority of the people are poor and can hardly afford any good thing in life.
Presently, many of our youth are unemployed, although they have degrees from the universities and other institutions such as the nursing schools and the colleges of education.
Sometimes, we mock some of the young people who have joined the unemployed graduates association because they are supposed to have found something to do. But can we blame them when state resources meant for the expansion of the economy so that the national cake can become bigger to cover all, is shared among a few in privileged positions in the public sector who squander the resources with careless abandon?
Our Constitution states very clearly that when it comes to the resources of the country, it is Parliament that holds the purse string of the government. Without the passage of the Appropriation Bill, the government cannot spend a pesewa and yet when public officials appear before the PAC, a very powerful committee of the Legislature, nothing concrete comes out of its efforts. It is like an organised waste of time.
We expect Parliament to carry its oversight responsibility over the government more seriously.
The Daily Graphic, commends Adom FM, one of the radio stations in the stable of the Multimedia Group, and Captain Smart for their public protest to get the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) unit to retrieve all stolen monies and prosecute the offenders.
It is our prayer that this endeavour will not be frustrated on the altars of political expediency but will be supported by all men of goodwill in the interest of mother Ghana.