Speaker lament Ghanaians attitude of condoning corruption

Mr. Peter Ala Adjetey, Speaker of Parliament on Saturday lamented the Ghanaian attitude of refusing to expose corruption among officials in the society.

He said he was yet to see any Ghanaian courageous enough to say he or she had given money to any official of judicial to influence the justice process.

The Speaker made these remarks at a two-day workshop for members of the Parliamentary Committee on the Judiciary to review findings of its hearings on the perceived corruption in the judicial system of Ghana, at Ho.

The workshop, which was organized by the committee in collaboration with the Center for Democratic Development (CDD)- Ghana, was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Mr. Ala Adjetey noted that people only complained about the problem quietly without doing anything about it. The speaker said because he considered corruption in the judiciary as a grave matter, he admitted a private member's statement on the issue in June this year and thought it was prudent for the House to pursue the matter with the view to finding possible solutions.

Mr. Ala Adjetey said corruption whether petty or grand was a menace to national development and retarded the progress of civilised societies adding that the problem could not be limited to any single institution.

The Speaker promised that Parliament would collaborate with the Executive and the Judiciary to enhance its image and public confidence in the rule of law and the due process of law.

Mr Kwame Osei-Prempeh, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Judiciary, said the public hearings on the issue were an arduous task for members, who were encouraged by the enthusiasm of the general public. He said the number of petitions of an average of five persons a week testified to the hearing.

Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, Ranking Member of the Committee said while corruption was pervasive in the society, Parliament's focus on the Judiciary did not mean it had been singled out.

He said it was only a matter of priority for Parliament to focus on the Judiciary, because ''when the due process of law is under attack then something is wrong."

Alhaji Mumuni stated that the Committee did malign the Judiciary and apologised for any statement that sought to create the impression that all members of the Judiciary had been put under the carpet. He conceded that there were many people of integrity in the ranks of the Judiciary to make it the envy of other African Countries.

Mr Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, Majority Chief Whip, underscored the fact that an independent and impartial judiciary was the backbone of democratic governance and economic development.

He, therefore, called for a review of the criminal code for the effective tackling of the issue of corruption. Mr Mensah-Bonsu called for the adoption of the system of making the burden of proof to shift to the accused to prove his innocence as being advocated by Transparency International.

He also requested authorities to improve the conditions of service of Judges and urged the media to conscientiously fight corruption. Justice George Acquah, a Judge of the Supreme Court, who represented the Chief Justice, said sometimes the behaviour of some Judges and their relationship with their staff and members of society created doubts about their impartiality.

He said the Judicial Service had recognised that there was a problem within its ranks and had set up a committee whose report was ready for implementation alongside that of the Parliament. Justice Acquah also said a new code of ethics for the Judiciary with relevant sanctions including intermediary disciplinary actions was in the offing.

Professor Kofi Gyimah-Boadi, Executive Director of CDD-Ghana, said his organisation's support programme for Parliament, being funded by USAID was aimed at strengthening the technocratic base of the committees.

He said it was also to enhance the effectiveness of parliament to discharge its constitutional obligations, notably the oversight function and inter-branch accountability promotion. Professor Gyimah-Boadi said a lot had been achieved since the early 1990s in the area of democratic governance.

He, however, said more remains to be done to secure and deepen the gains of democratic development.

Among the participants are Mr Emile Short, Commissioner of Human Rights and Administrative Justice, representatives of the Volta Regional Bar Association, Ghana Prisons Service and the Police Legal Department.