GACC commends Anas
The Ghana Anti Corruption Coalition (GACC) has said it has found the preliminary issues emanating from the two-year investigative work by Mr Anas Aremeyaw Anas very worrying.
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It said that was especially so because the matter bordered on the integrity of the Judiciary, one of the most important and respected institutions in the fight against corruption.
In a press statement, the GACC said it was important to note that acts of corruption were conducted in secrecy and, therefore, any effort aimed at documenting empirical evidence that bridged the gap between the perception and the reality of corruption was a tremendous contribution to stemming the tide against the canker.
The statement, signed by the governing board members of GACC, added, “It is in this light that the GACC commends the unrelenting efforts by Mr Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his Tiger Eye team for their continuous exposé of corruption in key sectors of the Ghanaian society over the years.”
Commendation
It commended the President, Mr John Dramani Mahama; the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, and the Judicial Council for initiating investigations into the matter and already taking disciplinary action against the implicated judges.
The statement called for prompt attention to the issue and added that the momentum should be sustained until the case was resolved and those found culpable made to face the full rigours of the law.
“The GACC maintains strongly that the integrity of the investigations is very critical and, therefore, calls on all stakeholders — the government, political parties and politicians, religious and traditional leaders, development partners, the international community and the public — to immediately curtail attempts at stopping the airing of the video and/or influencing the due process in any way,” it added.
It called on the government and the security agencies to immediately ensure that Anas’s safety and security, those of his team, as well as all other individuals involved and their families, were assured.
It asked traditional and religious leaders to desist from intervening in any way in the matter, including putting pressure on Anas and his team not to air the video.
Politicising
The statement charged politicians and political parties to desist from politicising the matter, as corruption had no partisan colour.
For the media, the coalition urged them to be committed to unprejudiced and dispassionate reportage that sought only to inform and educate the citizenry appropriately on the matter.
It asked all citizens to support all efforts at demanding transparent and accountable governance for improved development.
It reminded all public office holders about their obligation to exhibit the highest standard of professionalism and integrity in the conduct of their duties and called on all Ghanaians to emulate the example of Mr Anas and his team or at least report corruption as the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP) approved by Parliament enjoined all citizens to do.