Let’s take firm stand against corruption
The 2016 Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has stated that corruption is undermining confidence in the governance system in the country.
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He said corruption would destroy Ghana and its future “if we do not take a firm stand against it.”
“If we are to succeed in securing our future, we must succeed in securing the public purse,” he added.
Speaking at the Second Aliu Mahama Memorial Lectures at the State House in Accra on Tuesday, Nana Akufo-Addo described the development as dangerous.
The lecture, which was attended by leading members of the NPP, including former President, Mr John Agyekum Kufuor; family members and acquaintances of the late former Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama was on the theme: “One Ghana, securing our future.”
Global Competitiveness Report
Nana Akufo-Addo disclosed that out of 144 countries studied worldwide in the latest Global Competitiveness Report by the World Economic Forum, Ghana’s budget deficit was better than only three other countries. We placed 141st. Ghana’s annual rate of inflation was better than just four other countries.
“The Government’s debt as a percentage of GDP has grown, putting us at 100 on the list. And yet significant portions of Ghana’s debts were wiped out just a decade ago. In manufacturing, we managed 107th place. On health, we were ranked better than only 22 other countries, even though a few years ago our National Health Insurance Scheme was hailed around the world,” he announced.
On primary education, Nana Akufo-Addo said Ghana placed 116th, while on infrastructure, including roads, electricity and the Internet, “Ghana was deemed the 110th best out of 144 countries.”
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He said per the statistics, it was clear that the country was not doing very well.
State of economy in 2009
Nana Akufo-Addo stated that in 2009, the NDC government was handed the best economy inherited by any new government since the 1960s, with oil coming in and a debt-to-GDP ratio of just 29 per cent.
“In the last few months to the 2012 election, we all saw the reckless spending the NDC government undertook in a desperate move to hold on to power. The budget deficit alone for that year was the same as the entire national budget for 2008. Today, we are all suffering the consequences of those irresponsible actions,” he alleged.
Retooling security agencies
Nana Akufo-Addo called for the reforming and strengthening of the law enforcing agencies to effectively fight against corruption.
“Our law enforcement agencies - Ministries of Justice and the Interior, the Police Service, EOCO, CHRAJ, the Office of the Auditor General et al – have to be reformed and strengthened so that they can fulfil effectively their primary goals of ensuring the security of the nation and protecting our population from criminal activity, no matter its source. We have to deal with corruption, and do so urgently,” he said and urged the security services to protect the nation and the population from criminal activity, no matter its source.
Nana Akufo-Addo appealed to the leadership of the country, irrespective of their political, religious leaning or their profession, to demonstrate by example that indeed, “they are up for the fight.”
“Our people need to have that firm assurance now, not just by words or pious declarations, but by concrete deeds. Our future security as a peaceful, stable, democratic state depends on it,” he said.
Think big
He said to make that breakthrough in the economy, there was the need to do more than fight corruption, “We need to think big and we need to grow our economy. Fighting corruption and managing our economy competently will save us a lot of money to fund many of the things we need to do. But if we are truly to transform our economy to meet the needs of our population and project us into the 21st century, we have no choice but to industrialise our economy and modernise its agriculture,” he added.
Nana Akufo-Addo expressed concern that Ghanaian farmers were still depending on the rudimentary instruments that other nations now placed in their museums.