Government urged to establish regional anti-corruption reward scheme

Wa, Sept. 12, GNA - Mr George Amoh, Coordinator of the Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre (ALAC) of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has suggested to Government to establish an annual regional anti-corruption reward scheme to reward regions that performed creditably in the fight against corruption.

This, he believed, would generate a healthy competition among the regions, thereby, reducing the rate of corruption in the country.

He noted that corruption if reduced to the barest minimum would help to attract more investors into the country and create more employment opportunities for the citizenry.

Mr Amoh made the suggestion in a presentation at a one-day anti- corruption seminar on the topic 93Effects of Corruption on National Development in Ghana".

The workshop was organised by the GII in collaboration with the Upper West Regional office of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in Wa at the weekend.

In attendance were personnel from Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Civil Society Organisations, Security Agencies, Religious groups, Transport operators, the media as well as various Associations in the region.

The programme's objective is to empower them to report corrupt practices and also expose them to the available mechanisms for seeking redress in Ghana.

Mr Amoh said corruption, according to Transparency International, referred to 93the abuse of entrusted power for private gain" whiles the World

Bank defined it as "the abuse of public office for private gain".

The ALAC Coordinator said there were two main types of corruption, namely administrative corruption and political corruption.

Administrative corruption, according to him, was corruption that altered the implementation of policies such as issuing and procuring of licenses to favour people in return for favours, while political corruption was corruption that influenced the formulation of laws, regulations and policies aimed to favour persons or groups.

Mr. Amoh also mentioned bribery, nepotism, fraud, embezzlement and looting as other forms of corruption.

He mentioned money, valuables, gifts, favours, sex, and land as some of the tools used in luring people into the act of corruption.

The effects of corruption, he said, undermined the rule of law, weakened the capacity of institutions, constrained investments and retarded growth.

Mr Siddique Ubeidu, Acting Regional Director of CHRAJ took the participants through the available mechanisms for reporting corruption in Ghana.

He mentioned the institutional approach which includes reporting acts of corruption to anti-corruption institutions such as CHRAJ, Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Parliament, the Auditor General and the Attorney General's Departments, the Police, the Office of Accountability and the African Peer Review Mechanism.

Mr Yakubu Duogu, Wa Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) said corruption posed a threat to the country's fledgling democracy and government was therefore committed to strengthening state institutions to fight the canker.

He said the public could also contribute to the fight against corruption by standing up for the truth and observe values such as integrity, honesty, and transparency.

They should also reject corrupt practices and tendencies and help to educate people about the adverse effects of corruption on national development.