Fighting graft will ensure development – Akufo-Addo

Ghana will attain the prosperity it desires if the country intensifies and sustains its drive to flush out corruption, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reiterated.

According to him, the country will need to strengthen the institutions empowered to carry out such activities while citizens play their part.

Mr Akufo-Addo made this known at the 90th-anniversary celebration of Achimota School in Accra, where he was the special guest of honour.

“A consistent fight against corruption in public life will bring the transformation we look for. Make your presence felt by setting the example of hard work and incorruptibility.

After all, you are the leaders anyway and your example should make a difference. Obviously, the conditions in 1927 are different from the 2017 state of affairs in our country. And we should not expect the Achimota of today to be the same as attended by our hosts – the class of 1966-67.

We should build on what we have and constantly improve on our institutions. But it is also important that we fight to maintain the characteristics that gave places like Achimota the winning formula,” the president said at the event.

According to IMANI President and Founder Franklin Cudjoe, Ghana loses more than $3 billion of taxpayer’s money to corruption annually.

Mr Cudjoe made the conclusion in 2016 following his assessment of the Auditor General’s reports of previous years said corruption in state bodies was having a negative impact on the country’s finances.