Ghana doing well with corruption legislation but... – CHRAJ

A Deputy Commissioner of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Richard Quayson, has credited the country for its legislation on corruption, but indicted it on practical efforts in preventing the social and global canker.

"On paper, we are strong, but on the ground we are weak," he told the Daily Graphic in a briefing on self-assessment processes under the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) that the country has just been through.

The UNCAC is the global effort by states in fighting corruption, adopted by the UN General Assembly in October 2003. It came into force in December 2005.

As part of efforts at ensuring the implementation of the UNCAC, states adopted a "review mechanism". Ghana this year is under review, which will be undertaken by experts from Rwanda and Swaziland.

The CHRAJ is the focal institution in the country spearheading efforts at implementing the UNCAC, with the Director of Anti-corruption of CHRAJ, Mr Charles Ayamdo, as the focal person.

Mr Quayson, describing the extensive self-assessment exercise of the UNCAC, said the exercise was to rate Ghana in its determination to prevent corruption.

The assessment included responses to a range of questions on legislation, institutions, systems and processes at stemming the tide of corruption, and any response to a question had to be proved, he said.

For instance questions on evidence on implementation of laws on corruption had to be proven with the investigations and prosecutions carried out to bring culprits to book.

Mr Quayson, however, pointed out that that was where the challenge had been, as record keeping in the country was poor.

Also, weaknesses in laws, like the Whistle Blower Act, on holding public officials accountable, resulted in gaps in proving prosecutions under the law.

When it came to laws for preventing corruption and institutions established in the fight against corruption, Ghana fared creditably in providing responses in the self-assessment exercise.

He said the 1992 Constitution; the Criminal Offences Act, 1960; the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice Act, 1993; the Audit Service Act 2000; the Administration Act 2003; the Internal Audit Agency Act, 2003 and Public Procurement Act, 2003, were some of the fine laws on corruption prevention in Ghana.

With regard to institutions, CHRAJ, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the Police Service and the Judiciary were lead agencies in the campaign.

But when it came to implementation, the country fared poorly, Mr Quayson emphasised.

He said the next steps were to send the self-assessment report to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which is the host secretariat of the UNCAC.

Mr Quayson said the final process would be the tabling of the country's report at the Conference of Heads of States in Panama on the UNCAC during the year.

He noted that Ghana would have excelled in implementing the UNCAC, if the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP), the national comprehensive plan in the fight against corruption, had been adopted.

NACAP, the national anti-corruption strategy with a 10-year lifespan, from 2012 to 2021, began as far back as 1998, when CHRAJ organised the first integrity conference.

With extensive consultations and the blessing of the then Vice-President, Mr John Mahama, in January 2012, the strategy was supposed to have been adopted by Parliament to give it the force of law.

"When you think about the time, resources and effort invested by us, our stakeholders and development partners, and the fact that to date the document has not been read on the floor of Parliament for adoption, it is disheartening," Mr Quayson said.

"Every day that passes without the necessary action being taken to strengthen the fight against corruption results in the country losing grounds as we did in the past, when Former President Kufuor stated that there would be zero tolerance for corruption but failed to make it practical," he added.

He said Ghana had the opportunity to cover the grounds lost by the adoption of the NACAP by Parliament without delay.

Mr Quayson also charged all Ghanaians to make demands on their Members of Parliament for the strategy to be adopted.

By Caroline Boateng/Daily Graphic/Ghana