Minority chastises government over corruption

The Minority NDC in Parliament has slammed the Akufo-Addo-led government for the lack of commitment to fight corruption in the country.

According to them, the latest Corruption Perception Index released by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) vindicates the NDC’s position that there is corruption in the NPP’s government.

Alhaji A.B.A Fuseini, Ranking Member on Communication, speaking to the media in Parliament, said the NPP administration was doing nothing to fight corruption in the country.

His remark comes on the back of the latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released by the Ghana Integrity Initiative, the local chapter of Transparency International, in which Ghana scored 40 in 2017 as against 43 in 2016, in the latest CPI.

He said the latest ranking of Ghana in the Corruption Perception Index has plummeted to the lowest level, adding that, it does not speak well of government’s commitment to fight corruption.

Alhaji Fuseini also cited various corruption allegations against the government, including the $2.5 billion bond issued, the five million litres of contaminated fuel at BOST, the A-plus allegation against the two Deputy Chiefs of Staff among others, which he claimed were not investigated by the government.

Mr Alex Agyekum, Chairman of the Committee on Youth, Sports and Culture, debunked the Minority’s claim that the NPP administration was corrupt.

He said the Akufo-Addo led government has demonstrated in many ways that it is committed to the fight against corruption in all areas of public life in the country.

He said since the NPP administration assumed office various corruption allegations levelled against the public officials has been investigated by independent bodies as well as Parliament and in all instances, the accusations have turned out to be false.

Mr Agyekum said the establishment of the Special Prosecutor’s Office by government to deal with corruption by public office holders shows how serious the NPP administration is in tackling corruption issues in the country.

He said the NPP administration should rather be commended for initiating bold measures to deal with corruption unlike in the past when the previous government was just paying lip-service to the fight against the canker.