NPP Germany Calls On Ghanaians To Stand Up Against Corruption

The national chairman of the New Patriotic Party [NPP] in Germany Mr Dwamena-Yeboah has challenged Ghanaians to take a bold and principled stand against corruption in the country because of its negative impact on society.

In an interview with the Hamburg- based Top Afric Radio , Mr Dwamena-Yeboah explained that apart from undermining public confidence in the country’s political institutions, corruption also denies the ordinary citizens of access to social services such as education, health care and portable drinking water.

According to him the GHC 51.8 Million fraudulent judgement debt paid to Mr Alfred Woyome could have constructed 18 senior secondary schools or provided 12,000 boreholes for rural communities across the country and said this situation is simply unacceptable.

In his view this massive fraud perpetrated against the people of Ghana could not have been possible without the active connivance and participation of government ministers and senior civil servants in the various ministries and questioned whether the Mills-Mahama administration has the political will and the moral courage to bring all involved in this unprecedented scandal to justice.

The NPP chairman said the rather lukewarm attitude of the Attorney General’s office towards the Woyome case reflects the President’s stated position that the NDC government was not interested in pursuing the recipient of this questionable payment. Against this backdrop,it will not be surprising if Mr Woyome is left off the hook because government is not interested in securing a conviction he added.

Mr Dwamen-Yeboah noted that laws by themselves are not enough to fight corruption and said vigilance on the part of civil society is equally important declaring ’the best way to fight corruption is to build a strong public opinion against it.’

Touching on the thorny issue of recent ethnic tension in the country, he expressed concern that ethnicity is gradually eating into fabric of Ghana’s politics a situation which he described as dangerous for the country’s young democracy.

He reiterated that politics is about making choices based on programmes and policies of each political party saying ’our cultural differences and ethnic diversity should be a source of strength and unity and not a cause of conflict and hostility’. He therefore urged Ghanaians to eschew tribal politics and cast their votes based on issues that are relevant to national development and not tribal affiliation.

Asked about the appointment of the IGP, Mr Dwamena-Yeboah observed that the current situation whereby the head of the police service has become a political appointee is out dated and out of touch with internationally accepted practice. He argued that such practice not only undermines the neutrality of the service but more importantly it compromises competence as a result of political interference which has become common place under the NDC government.

By Kwaku Anane-Gyinde

Aachen Germany