Akufo-Addo's government most corrupt in 4th republic – Vitus Azeem

Former Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative, Vitus Azeem has described the current Akufo-Addo-led government as the worst in the fight against corruption.

Having created the impression on the minds of Ghanaians that his team will take on the ‘no-corruption’ approach and deal with anyone who sought to defeat that purpose, Mr. Azeem expected that Mr. Akufo-Addo, in the very least, set an example for past and subsequent governments to follow.

He believes this task was not just unaccomplished, the entire government has failed citizens he said.

Comparing the tenures of leaders since the inception of the 4th Republic, he noted that governments over the course of the years have put in their shifts to reduce the plague despite the deteriorations but singled out this administration as being the worst culprits.

“…with every chain of a new government it seems to worsen, and you can see it with this present government. It was not as bad as it was under Kufuor, it was not as bad as it was under Atta Mills and Rawlings…especially this 2019. The things that are coming out are very unfortunate and should not be happening” he claimed.

The anti-corruption campaigner intimated that efforts by the Akufo-Addo government to curb corruption is nothing shy of a disgrace, further questioning the President’s motives for appointing some of the members of his cabinets who have a history of indulgence.

“…now people are touting the government that it’s one-day one-scandal, not one village one dam. So you begin to wonder, what is it that we have gotten wrong; why is this happening…

Just look at the PPA case for example. This guy some time ago was under Ghana and Sewage Corporation. They procured letterheads for 100 years. They were investigated and supposed to have been sacked but they didn’t go through the right procedures to remove them and was brought back.

President Kufuor must have known but brought him in, stayed there until he left power. President Akufo-Addo has brought him back again. So you even begin to wonder, is it that you want to bring people who can play the tricks for you so that they can raise funds for your campaigns…”, he said.

Ghana improved marginally under the ratings of the 2018 Corruption Perception Index, improving by one point as compared to that of the previous year and ranked 78 out of 180 other countries in the index as reported by the Ghana Integrity Initiative.

But the former Director insisted that the results do not capture the right corruption outlook in the country presently as there have been several unresolved.