‘Ghana is plagued with glorification of ill-gotten wealth’

The Director General of Operations of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police John Kudalor, has said the country was plagued with a canker of “glorification of ill-gotten wealth".

“Our society today virtually worships money and wealth no matter the source. It cuts across religious affiliations, ethnic backgrounds, and professional associations and has no respect for geographical location; we glorify riches and seldom question the sources of such wealth,” he said.

Mr. Kudalor was speaking at the 75th speech and prize giving day celebration of the Aggrey Memorial Senior High School on Saturday at Cape Coast which was on the theme ‘75 years of secondary education at Aggrey Memorial: achievement, challenges and the way forward’.

He said the country was struggling with moral issues because it was those individuals with looted wealth who manipulated laid down rules and regulations and bought their ways to become chiefs, society leaders and even religious leaders.

The Director General of Police expressed regret that most of the mysterious wealth came from crimes such as robberies, drug trafficking, stealing and internet fraud but the elderly did not speak against it and rather exalted the criminals.

He said owners of such mysterious riches obviously gotten from the commission of serious crimes were adored and elevated into positions of prominence, hence the current numerous crimes.

Mr. Kudalor said the youth of today were gradually abandoning the rich Ghanaian culture and values by condoning illegalities and entrenching crime and that it was a wrong signal to the youth that money is first and all other things do not matter.

Mr. Kudalor said crime in all forms was addictive and called on religious leaders, opinion leaders, the government and the general public to consciously wage war against it to prevent the youth and vulnerable ones from associating with crime, criminals and criminality.

He also expressed worry that majority of the prisoners in prisons were young men and women who were supposed to be in school but are serving long sentences in the overcrowded prisons.