Corruption proof not citizens’ duty – CDD

Senior Research Fellow at the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Dr Kojo Asante has disagreed with President Nana Akufo-Addo for suggesting that citizens who level corruption allegations against individuals in government should have proof.

For him, such allegations should trigger probes, indicating that the President’s comment has the potential to discourage whistleblowers when there could be some substance to what is being alleged.

For him, it is very important to protect the public purse, adding that issues cannot be brushed aside without proper investigations simply because the person who raised the alarm does not have sufficient proof.

"It should not be the duty of the citizen. Yes, people can allege, but then it should be a trigger for an investigation by the appropriate authorities to then come to a conclusion.

“That is our mandate as citizens, to ensure that the public purse is protected, so, if I come to you and allege that someone has done something, it is your job as the executive with the investigative body to go and investigate,” he stated at a programme held on Thursday, January 18 in Accra to assess the Akufo-Addo government’s first year in office.

Dr Asante was emphatic that such an issue is not like cases being tried in “some courts of law where the person who alleges is the one that has to come and provide evidence and defend”, adding: “This insistence that people should bring evidence is wrong”.