"Ghanaians treasure falsehood" - Alban Bagbin

Ghanaians are steeped in falsehood, Majority Leader Alban Bagbin has said.

Speaking as the Chairman of the 2014 Centre for Social Democracy, Ghana (CSD-Ghana) lecture on the theme: “The rule of law, good governance and democratic consolidation in Ghana”, the veteran legislator said it was high time Ghanaians treasured “truth telling [and] honesty.”

“You see, when you grow up with these values, you’ll definitely not be sinning the way we are doing in this country,” Bagbin told the audience.

The Nadowli Kaleo MP said the country is grappling with “serious challenges because in Ghana we treasure falsehood and that is what we do every day.”

“There was a research in Ghana where 100 people were interviewed, only two spoke the truth,” he revealed.

Mr Bagbin is fast gaining a reputation as an anti-corruption crusader in the country.

A few months back, he alleged that some of his colleague MPs in Parliament have been taking bribes from organisations so as to articulate their views on the floor of the house in order to influence some of the laws churned out from the house that may be relevant to what they do.

Bagbin said at a two-day seminar in Koforidua organised by the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund that: "The reality is that MPs are Ghanaians and there is evidence that some MPs take bribes and come to the floor and try to articulate the views of their sponsors".

He was criticised by some of his colleagues and some civil society groups called on the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to investigate Bagbin’s claims.