2024 Election: Political parties haven't shown enough commitment to fight corruption - GACC

The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) has raised concerns over the insufficient focus on anti-corruption measures in the manifestos of political parties contesting the 2024 general elections.

The coalition bemoaned the lack of commitment to making corruption a central theme in political discourse as the December 7 elections approach.

Speaking at a forum in Accra on the theme "Elections and Anti-Corruption: What is the Next Government Agenda?” Beauty Emefa Nartey, Executive Director of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), emphasised the disconnect between election promises and concrete anti-corruption strategies.

She noted that while the manifestos of the major political parties collectively contain 32 anti-corruption commitments, only four specifically address the enforcement of existing anti-corruption legislation.

"Corruption and the fight against it do not show explicit in election conversations as Ghana nears another election on December 7.

"The major political parties have a total of 32 anti-corruption commitments scattered in their manifestos. Out of this 34, only 4 are about enforcing or existing anti-corruption legislation. This, therefore, makes it difficult to see how elections and anti-corruption issues are integrated," she noted, in a video shared by Citi TV.

The forum was organised by the Ghana Anti-Corruption Campaign Coalition, a group of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) committed to the fight against corruption.

It aimed to draw attention to the detrimental effects of corruption and urged political actors to commit to meaningful reforms.

Presidential and parliamentary candidates, political parties, and other stakeholders were encouraged to adopt stronger anti-corruption policies.

Representatives from several political parties, including the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the Convention People’s Party (CPP), the All-People’s Congress (APC), the Movement for Change (MFC), the Ghana Union Movement (GUM), and the New Force, shared their proposed strategies for addressing corruption if elected in 2024.

However, the GACC and other attendees stressed the need for actionable and enforceable plans rather than vague commitments.

JKB/AE

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