Ghana needs independent agency to deal with corruption - Prof S.K.B.
THE Executive Director of the Centre for Regional Integration, Prof. S.K.B Asante, has stated that Ghana urgently needs a strong political will and an independent agency to deal with corruption in the country.
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He said an independent body which would be empowered without any political interference to break the chain of corruption was needed and not government-created institutions.
According to Prof. Asante, the idea that government officials should be prosecuted by an Attorney General who was appointed by government was self-defeating, saying that “not many people will be prosecuted or even if prosecution takes place, the criminals will be transferred elsewhere instead of jail for their offences.”
“The country needs to be noticeably aggressive about limiting avenues for corruption by eliminating the loopholes and conflict of interest inherent in the Constitution that allows corrupt practices to go unpunished on the grounds of technicalities,” he stated.
Protocols and conventions
Prof. Asante made the remarks at the launch of the State of the Union–Ghana Report by the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) in Accra on Wednesday.
The study was to monitor Ghana’s progress made in the compliance and implementation of 16 African Union Protocols and Conventions in order to ascertain the extent of compliance and to facilitate a dialogue on addressing challenges to the implementation of the instruments.
The various protocols and conventions Ghana has ratified include a Charter on Human and People’s Rights in Africa (1981), African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (2007), Maputo Plan of Action for Implementing the Continental Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights and Rights Policy Framework (2007-2010), African Youth Charter (2006) and African Charter on the Rights and welfare of the child (1990).
The study formed part of the resolution by Pan African civil society organisations in 2009 at a meeting in Addis Ababa to collectively monitor the conduct of member states of the AU and hold them accountable for ratification and implementation of AU decisions.
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Prof. Asante, who chaired the ceremony, said the study was in the right direction to hold member states accountable for their policies because decisions were mostly discussed but implementation was a big challenge.
He said the report suggested that civil society needed to be involved and contribute their quota in the implementation process of the AU protocols and conventions.
He commended IDEG for the research which he said was a major element in the country’s quest for a democratic accountable and transparent society.
Ghana makes progress
Highlighting more on the research, a member of the Steering Committee on the State of the Union–Ghana Report, Mr Kingsley Obeng Kyere, said the research was informed by the gap between decisions taken by the AU and the risk of the decision not being implemented at the national level.
He said although a number of policies and decisions had been taken in respect to the welfare of Africans, most governments did not implement them at the national level.
The findings from the research, he said, revealed that Ghana had fairly complied with the AU protocols and conventions it had ratified over the years.
While remarkable success had been achieved in some areas, he said, there was more room for improvement, especially in areas such as the Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.
He said Ghana had made progress towards achieving the Maputo Plan Action for Implementing the Continental Sexual and Reproductive Health by 2010 (2006).
A former President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ambassador James Victor Gbeho, who launched the report, urged the government to implement the recommendations in the report.
He said the implementation should benefit every citizen and ensure that every one had a fair share of the country’s resources.