OPINION: Kufuor's Zero Tolerance Under Test

Zero tolerance for corruption, is one of the latest phrases to join Ghanaian parlance, courtesy of President John Kufuor.

Pronounced in the wake of a period of some of the worst corruption practices witnessed in the annals of Ghana' history, the President's strong stance against corruption was welcomed by most Ghanaians.

Kufuor has kept up his verbal crusade against corruption; warnings come up week after week to especially Ministers of State. The President has also promised to back up his admonitions with a code of conduct for the Ministers.

So far those who appear to be falling short of the President's zero mark have been NDC ministers and appointees. Pending issues include over payment of ESBs, dubious payments for contracts, contracts for ghost payments and failure to account for huge sums of money.

Three months into their four-year mandate, the new President and his government are yet to be seriously tested by the high standards of public conduct being set in motion.

But some critics have warned that some acts already taking place risk putting the President's strong talk on corruption in jeopardy.

So far issues that have come up include questions over rehabilitation works at the Castle and at President Kufuor's house, and ESBs plus writing off of car loans for MPs.

The issue of rehabilitating the Castle, the seat of government and former residence of ex-President, Jerry John Rawlings raised interesting questions. Why did the NDC, accused of imprudent use of the country's resources, not spend the money to make the abode of their leader more comfortable than what the NPP met? Or is there some truth that the former President was really modest? Or is it that the taste of the new government is too high?

Even as these questions remained at the whispering level, the issue that caught the eye of observers was the popping of the name of Oboshie Sai-Cofie, hostess of the popular "Straight Talk programme on GTV in the refurbishment of some rooms at the Castle.

Critics imputed that this was an example of nepotism since the woman in question was said to be the brain behind some of catchy adverts of the NPP in last year's general elections. Mrs. Cofie's father, Professor F. Sai is also a staunch member of the NPP and served as chairman of the transitional team put in place by President Kufuor immediately after the elections. He has also nominated to the board of Bank of Ghana.

The government has so far not made any attempts to justify how the decision was taken despite attempts by some radio stations to probe the issue.

And quite recently when questions about renovations around the President's private house which he is using as his official residence came up, some three gentlemen, two in the construction industry and one in manufacturing, came out to say that they did some work on the surroundings free of charge.

They say it was just a kind gesture without any strings attached.

Three gentlemen - Boadu, Kwesi Osei Ofori, and another said they had noticed the surroundings of President Kufuor's Airport and it was not up to scratch to receive his visitors.

On Friday, March 16, they went on air to talk about their benevolence, after some newspapers criticised government for using public funds to renovate his private home.

"The President was 10,000 kilometres away from me sometime ago, but we have now got a President who is approachable," one of the gentlemen said of Kufuor and why he decided to offer his gift to the President.

What the President's code of conduct will have on receiving unsolicited gifts would be interesting to read but a number of people Public Agenda spoke to were divided on the issue.

Dr. Baffour Agyeman -Duah, Associate Executive Director of the Center of Democracy and Development said there was nothing wrong with government officials accepting gifts but also warned that it can influence on the relationship between the receiver and the giver.

He said there was a fine line between corruption and the exercise of influence and patriotism and the best thing for the president to do is to stay out of it.

He said society has a right to question, if the individuals would benefit from preferred treatment in the award of contracts and others.

KB Asante, a former diplomat also thinks such gestures are part of Ghanaian culture. He however said he was uncomfortable with the individuals. (Two are in a construction related industry- one manufactures roofing tiles and pavement bricks the other hires out plant.)

But for others it is a straightforward matter, government officials should simply refuse gifts. Dr. Emmanuel Anin of the Institute of Economic Affairs said people do not give gifts for giving sake. "Reciprocity is involved that is exploited by the giver," he said. "Immediately one collects a gift, one opens oneself to blackmail."

Dr Anin said accepting the gifts have hurt the President. "He has lost the moral ground to criticise his ministers who accept similar gifts."

He also questioned the motives of the individuals involved and wondered. "If they cared so much about they could have beautified the Ministry of Health."

All the people Public Agenda spoke to said there should be rules and regulations about the value of gifts public officials can receive and avenues for the reporting receipt of items, cash or services.

Kufuor still stays in his Airport home. His aides say a great amount of work would have to be done at the Castle before he can move in.

Another issue bogging a number of people is the virtual dash of top cars to MPs. Some MPs mainly NDC ones were able to pick some older cars and flats in the 1966. The 2000 crop of MPs are going off with fresher cars and the possibility of acquiring the current place of abode.

Given the controversy and now even court decisions on what to do with the cars being used by former ministers, a number of people had expected NPP MPs to take a principled stance on this issue by at least agreeing to pay the balance for the cars they bought at the beginning of term.

So far not much has been heard on that. This plus an earlier leak of a parliamentary committee report recommending fresh five bedroom flats for the current crop of MPs has gotten some people worried. Would the NPP be able to set the pace for accountability, fairness and self-criticism? Questions that the next three years and eight months are to help unravel.