Some of the participants in a group photograph
The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has called on the public to be bold to expose impropriety, wherever they find themselves to help eradicate corruption in the country.
She mentioned the Police, the Attorney-General, Intelligence Agencies, Serious Fraud Office, CHRAJ, National Media Commission, Narcotic Control Board, as some of the places one could disclose information.
Ms Diaba was speaking at a Community Durbar Engagement on Accountability, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme at Effutu Nsuekyir on the topic “Whistleblowing mechanism and Anti-Corruption: The role of the Citizenry”.
The programme was organised by the Effutu Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and sponsored by European Union (UE) for the promotion of democracy and good governance.
Ms Diaba informed the gathering that, the Whistleblower’s Act, 2006 (Act 7020) regulated disclosure of Impropriety in Ghana, provided ways individuals may in the public interest, disclose information on unlawful conduct.
She said the Act also provided for the protection against victimisation of persons who made disclosures and a fund to cater for the reward of individuals who made disclosures and other related matters.
Impropriety, she stated constituted economic crime as it involved mismanagement or misappropriation of public funds; Non-compliance of the law, miscarriage of Justice, waste of public resources, environmental degradation, endangering the health or safety of an individual or community.
According to her, the responsibility of CHRAJ in relation to the Whistleblower Act was to receive and investigate disclosures of impropriety and investigate complaints of victimisation of whistleblowers.
Mr Michael Aggrey, Central Regional Programme Director of the NCCE briefed the gathering about a communique compiled by a Focus Group made up of CHRAJ, EOCO and Ghana Police Service, Assembly Members Women and Youth groups, Traditional Authorities, Political Parties at the Regional Level on the issue.
The Focus Group Report indicated that the fight against corruption in Ghana was the business of every citizen, and all hands must be on deck for its complete elimination.
He noted that the Accountability, Rule of Law Anti-Corruption Programme (ARAP) was one of the key NCCE initiatives sponsored by the EU to advocate campaign and lobby for increase accountability in both public and private sphere.
The NCCE is, therefore, sensitising the citizenry on various legal regimes and laws related to accountability and aimed at fighting corruption in Ghana in order to protect the state purse, to enable the government to get the needed funds to provide the basic needs of the citizenry.
Nana Kow Mensah Koomson, Odikro of the Effutu Nsuekyir said it was unfortunate that corruption permeated all facets of the society, and added that anyone who was afraid to disclose a corrupt person was corrupt himself.
