Debate team prioritises RTI over Special Prosecutor Law

The debate team of the University of Ghana has been adjudged winners of the inter-tertiary debate on corruption organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) as part of this year’s National Anti-Corruption and Transparency Week celebrations.

The debate was held at the University of Ghana’s Balme Library Seminar Room on Wednesday, December 6, 2017. Over 200 guests were present.

The overreaching theme for the debate was: “Empowering the Youth in the Fight Against Corruption.”

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Aim of debate

The aim of the debate was to raise awareness of corruption among the youth and engage them to suggest policy recommendations on how to curb the canker. In this regard, students from four universities:  the University of Ghana, Central University College, Islamic University College and the Accra Technical University went head to head to debate the motion:

“Which of these will you prioritise and why: The Special Prosecutor or Right to Information Law”.

The University of Ghana was represented by Level 400 Political Science students: Emmanuel Gerald Arhin and Fareed Gombilla who advanced arguments for prioritising as a matter of urgency the Right to Information Bill.

They confidently beat their opponents, Abubakar Abdul-Aziz and Mohammed Osman Dogo, from the Islamic University College with the argument that the Office of the Special Prosecutor could not function effectively without access to information.

Winning team

The winning team argued that the best way to tackle corruption in the country is to pass the Right to Information Bill as the citizens would be able to hold those in public office accountable for their actions— armed with the relevant information.

They reiterated their stance by stating that “a Right to Information in place would minimise corruption and bring offenders to book.”

The Central University College, represented by Latifa Alhassan and Joshua Batsa Narh, beat the Accra Technical University, represented by Richard Sirate and Obodai Bright.

The Central University College emerged the first runners-up, with Accra Technical University and Islamic University College in a tie for the third place.

Right to information

Despite the passage of the Special Prosecutor Law, there appears to be a strong line of argument that the Right to Information Bill still remains one of the key outstanding tools required to effectively tackle corruption in Ghana. This, along with the Special Prosecutor Law, will make the fight against corruption successful.