Federation of Muslim Councils pledge to fight corruption

The Federation of Muslim Councils of Ghana (FMC) has pledged its support for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in its fight against corruption in the country.

In this regard, FMC has promised to continue its role of combating corruption as outlined in the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP).

The National Coordinator of FMC, Alhaji Abdullah Showumi Williams, made this known at a meeting with a delegation from the CHRAJ at the headquarters of the FMC in Accra.

He announced that FMC, as part of its role in combating corruption, would soon launch a national programme to sensitise its members to the negative effects of corruption on society, and to train its members and Imams on the Whistle-blower  Act

NACAP

Parliament passed NACAP in 2011 as part of efforts to deal with corruption.

The plan, which came into force in 2012 and will run to 2020, is expected to contextualise and mobilise efforts and resources of stakeholders to prevent and fight corruption through the promotion of high ethics and integrity as well as vigorous enforcement of applicable laws.

It aims to institutionalise efficiency, accountability and transparency in the public, private and not -for profit sectors as well as conduct effective investigations and prosecution of corrupt conduct.

 It also focuses on causes, effects and measures to control corruption and outline measures for strengthening key anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies, to improve investigation and prosecution.

Alhaji Williams noted that the fight against corruption would be meaningless if leaders failed to purge themselves of the canker.

“The fight against corruption will be a nullity if political leaders, the police, government officials, public officers and other high ranking officials do not themselves stay clear of corruption," he said.

He said Islam abhorred any kind of corrupt conduct such as bribery, kickback, facilitation payments and influence peddling and, therefore, advised employers to pay their employees adequately and promptly to avoid tempting them into corruption.

Shared responsibility

For his part, a Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ, Mr Richard Quayson, said that the fight against corruption was a shared responsibility among state agencies, civil society organisations and religious institutions.

“Corruption can be tamed, but it requires sustained effort and commitment. We must unite the country around NACAP to help win the war against corruption,’’ he said.