Punish corrupt officials severely - NCCE boss

The fight against the corruption menace will not be successful if those caught in the act are let off the hook or treated with kids gloves, Josephine Nkrumah, Chair of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), has said.

Ms Nkrumah told Winston Amoah on the Sunrise programme on 3FM Monday, October 21 that if persons caught in the act of corruption are not reprimanded severely, it will serve as an incentive to others to also engage in the questionable act.

“If these people get away with these corrupt practices it makes it easier for people down the ladder to do things differently. So, I think we need to tighten the laws or the consequences.”

She also called for the effective implementation of anti-corruption laws in the country in order to deal with the menace drastically.

Ghana has adopted the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (2012-2020) as part of efforts to deal with the problem.

Ms Nkrumah further stated: “We have the laws but it is more of implementation. I don’t think we are enforcing the laws enough.”

Regarding the role of the media in the fight against graft, she said: “One of the reasons that we have is because we don’t wait to see the end of these cases.

“Sometimes media houses also play a role. So there is all the sensation about the big case of corruption but we don’t hear media following it through to the end. Maybe sometimes you would even have full implementation of the law but it is lost on people.”