Akufo-Addo's corruption claim on CNN never false but utmost truth - Oppong-Nkrumah fires back

Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, has refuted claims that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has underperformed when it comes to his fight against corruption.

On Monday, May 3, 2021, President Akufo-Addo granted an interview to CNN, discussing Ghana’s economic development, business growth, and corruption.

CNN's Zain Asher, in an interview with the President, asked about what his government has done to fight corruption in Ghana.

“One of your important mandate aside from fixing the economy is of course tackling corruption, are you proud the way your government has dealt with corruption, what steps specifically have you made in trying root it out?” she questioned.

The President answered; "A lot has been done, and it has reflected in Ghana’s growing position and rankings of corruption in the world. We’ve gone up several notches since I came into office because we are dealing with these matters at the basic level.''

But the President is said to have peddled falsehood about his performance in tackling corruption.

A publication by ''The Fourth Estate'' website indicates that the Corruption Perception Indexes (CPI) by Civil Society Organizations like the Transparency International, Afrobarometer and according to the Global Corruption Index (GCI), all point to the fact that rate of corruption under the Akufo-Addo regime has increased.

Ghana’s CPI score in 2020, according to Transparency International, was 43 revealing that the country’s performance on corruption, compared to previous years, has dropped.

This therefore means President Akufo-Addo hasn't made a good mark in fighting corruption.

Granting an exclusive interview with Peacefmonline.com, the Information Minister debunked the claims that the President lied on CNN.

According to him, the President has proven to be on top in resolving corruption.

The Minister stressed, as part of President's commitment to combat corruption, he has equipped and strengthened the anti-corruption institutions to investigate and prosecute corrupt individuals or entities.

When asked why there has been a delay in prosecuting and sentencing some persons who have been cited in corruption scandals if indeed the President is doing well in figting corruption, the Minister advised Ghanaians to monitor the work of the anti-corruption agencies but not to jump on the bandwagon accusing the government of failing to address corruption.

''Provision for the strengthening of these anti-corruption bodies has improved in the last four years. What we have to do collectively is not to be saying ‘I’ve alleged that you’re corrupt, prove you’re not corrupt’ but is to be saying, for these allegations that have come in, ‘Dear, security agencies or Dear, investigative bodies, have you conducted an investigation? What is the outcome?’ and if you are satisfied with the outcome, what are the remedies that are available to us," he said.

The Minister corroborated the President's statements of effectively tackling corruption saying, "I think the President was quite clear about his commitment and what he has done. The kind of budgetary improvement and increases to the anti-corruption agencies, I don't think that is a matter that is in contention. You have heard some of the key actors in these anti-corruption bodies, themselves, attest to the fact that budgetary allocation and the resourcing that is required for them to do their work has improved. If you compare that with what used to happen in the past, where we kept making this argument that if you really want these bodies to be independent and functioning, make resourcing available to them; you can come to a conclusion clearly that commitment has been demonstrated in this area".

"But the President has also said over and over again that corruption is not going to be fought by one hero".

"You're going to need to build strong State institutions, resource them for them to deliver on that task, think the answer is quite clearly that he is doing that. What we need to do is to focus attention on these State institutions that have been tasked and resourced to lead that fight and ensure that they succeed in it," he added.