Government will collaborate with anti-corruption agencies-Vice President

Accra, Oct 12, GNA- Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday stated that the Government would partner all anti-corruption agencies towards the fight to eliminate or reduce corruption in the country. This, he said, would be done through the implementation of the numerou= s laws, strengthen the legislations and to increase funding to the agencies towards the execution of their duties.

Vice President Mahama gave the assurance when he addressed a national conference on integrity under the theme, 93Building a robust ethics infrastructure to promote Integrity in Ghana."

The Conference which was organised by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice(CHRAJ) and supported by the Danish International Development Agency attracted participants from governmental and private anti-corruption agencies in Ghana and beyond.

It was aimed at consolidating the measures and initiatives undertaken to build a strong national integrity system and chart a way forward to reduce opportunities for corruption and rent-seeking. Vice President Mahama said government would also ensure that internal controls such as the implementation of the Internal Audit Act, Whistle Blowers Act and the Right to Information bill would be passed to help in th= e curtailment of corruption.

He appealed to Legislators to also review the Assets Declaration Forms into a serious document for politicians and government officials to stem th= e high rate of corruption among those groups of public servants. "The Assets Declaration forms still have issues such as number of wr= ist watches, content of gold or diamond in them, number of refrigerators, which are basic and I believe the elimination of such petty issues and tackling more serious assets will help fight corruption."

He promised that the Government would also ensure that the Auditor-General's Reports were followed up and ensure that all the recommendations were adhered to as a way of detering others from engaging i= n corrupt practices.

"We as a government will also strengthen our international cooperati= on since we do not work in isolation. For example, cooperation between Ghana and her neighbours, Africa-Asia and Africa-Europe is all essential for the elimination of corruption."

Professor S.K. Date-Bah, Justice of the Supreme Court, called for the implementation of proactive investigation strategy for areas of national life where there is widespread suspicion of corruption was rife. He called on the Government to give a positive signal to the investigative agencies to assure them of its political backing to enable them efficiently and effectively carry out their mandate. He called for the strengthening of state capacity, adding, cooperation of media, civil society groups and public was critical to fight the menace. Prof Date-Bah underscored the importance of an independent judiciary and stressed that the Government needed to adequately resource the Courts t= o execute their duties.

He called on CHRAJ to initiate and maintain regular programmes and workshops for journalists aimed at building their capacity to conduct investigative journalism and to boost their reportage on corruption. Prof Date-Bah called on the Government Statistician to consider conducting periodic national surveys on respondents' knowledge on corrupt= ion to provide a better basis for national discussion.

Mrs Theodora Georgina Wood, the Chief Justice, said the principles and ideals of integrity were crucial to reduce corruption and called for coordination in their fight against corruption and other malpractices in th= e country. Ms Lauretta Vivian Lamptey, Commissioner of CHRAJ, said the purpose of the workshop was to create public awareness on the social and economic cost= s of corruption, foster creation of a positive and non-partisan approach towards combating corruption as well as to secure the requisite political will to fight the menace.