Tema-Ghana, Sept. 28, – The Ghana Integrity Initiatives (GII) have noted that corruption continues to be the bane of Ghana, as studies show that corruption continues to permeate the entire society with its adverse effects manifesting in the socioeconomic development of the country.
Mrs. Mary Awelana Addah, GII Executive Director, noted that the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC) offers Ghana a period for introspection.
She said the period also offers an opportunity for all anti-corruption stakeholders, both state and non-state actors, to interrogate both institutional and
national efforts, particularly when the country is said to have stagnated in its fight against corruption and is also struggling to pick itself up from an all-time economic quagmire.
Mrs. Addah, in an interview with the media in Tema, recounted that considerable progress has been made, such as the localization of the provisions of the Convention into domestic laws.
Other progress she identified was the strengthening of domestic public sector anti-corruption and accountability institutions and establishing new ones, which are remarkable achievements worth celebrating; “there is the need to translate these achievements into the actual fight against corruption”.
To consolidate the gains made and learn new lessons to confront the challenges, Mrs. Addah noted that anti-corruption stakeholders have initiated discussions to identify domestic interventions required to clear pathways to promoting the country’s anti-corruption agenda.
Mrs. Addah noted the status of alignment in terms of Ghana’s anti-corruption legal framework with regards to the AUCPCC and identified outstanding laws that need to be passed and/or operationalized.
The GII Executive Director stressed that the stakeholders will also analyse the impact of the existing collaboration between state and non-state actors and devise further strategies for strengthening the collaboration to facilitate progress.
“We are also working on innovations and best practices for citizens’ engagement in the fight against corruption, which will also be shared and develop policy recommendations for the government and relevant agencies for consideration to ensure Ghana’s full compliance with the AUCPCC and the sustenance of the corruption fight,” Mrs. Addah noted.
The stakeholders engaged in the discussion of AUCPCC, its challenges, and achievements 20 years after its promulgation in the process include state and non-state anti-corruption actors, including the media, youth groups, and representatives from academia.
The AUCPCC stakeholders’ discussions are being championed by GII in partnership with the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
Other partners are the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) and a representative of the AU Advisory Board on Corruption (AUABC).
It is supported under the Anti-Corruption component of the Ghana Developing Communities Association’s (GDCA) Empowerment for Life (E4L) Programme, of which GII is an implementing partner.
