NDC tackled graft – Apaak

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration put in best measures to fight corruption in the country, Dr Clement Apaak, Member of Parliament for Builsa North, has indicated.

According to him, the John Mahama administration put in several measures to deal with the canker.

Dr Apaak said the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan was established to help fight graft. Similarly, the Citizens’ Complaints Unit was also established to provide the leeway for Ghanaians to provide information on corrupt officials.

His comments come on the heels of assurances given by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo that the Right To Information Bill will be passed as part of the anti-corruption drive.

Mr Akufo-Addo gave the assurance while delivering a speech at the 61st Independence Day ceremony in Accra on Tuesday, 6 March.

Commenting on this on TV3’s New Day programme on Saturday, 10 March, Dr Apaak said: “We are all at risk, so for example, if a hospital is supposed to be built and yet a shoddy work is done, where the equipment used is sub-standard and as a result of that people lose their lives, you cannot predetermine whether that person is going to be a supporter or sympathiser of party A or party B or what the social or economic status of that person is going to be. So, we are all potential victims of acts of corruption. That is why every government since Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s reign, has made it an issue to fight the canker of corruption.

“We have come a long way, we in NDC did our part. The National Anti-corruption Action Plan was unveiled at the time former President John Mahama appointed Daniel Batidam to serve as the lead advisor in the office of the president, working with the implementation agencies. I don’t know what this government is doing about the plan.

“We even went on to set up the Citizens’ Complaints Unit to allow citizens easy access to bring forward information that can be actionable. But if we can pass the RTI bill which we wanted to do before we left office but the NPP refused to collaborate, it will help.

“If they want to pass the bill, so be it, we will all support that because, if for nothing at all, it puts into the toolkit, another important implement that we can use.”