Ghana’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Godfred Yebaoh Dame has observed that corruption is not only limited to Government officials.
He indicates that businesses, civil society, the media, public servants, religious organizations, and the so-called ordinary man are all guilty of corruption and corrupt acts.
Addressing participants at the 14th Regional Conference of Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Accra, Ghana, he said “It is perpetrated by all – government officials, businesses, civil society, the media, public servants, religious organizations, and the so-called ordinary man. The deployment of sophisticated schemes to circumvent procedures and facilitate the commission of the crime and other kinds of improper conduct contributes to the perpetuation of corruption in societies”
According to him, transparency is the pivot to eradicating corruption, given the litany of acts that have been passed by the current administration in this regard.
“Transparency, in my respectful view, is the bedrock of integrity and the eradication of corruption. Thus, operating with the clear understanding that the haven for economic crimes is an atmosphere conducive to its concealment, and that, access to information remains a vital tool in the elimination of economic crimes, the Government of President Nana Akufo-Addo in 2019, spearheaded the passage of the Right to information Act 2019 (Act 989). The Act provides for the implementation of the constitutional right to information held by a public institution, to foster a culture of transparency and accountability in public affairs, subject to a few exemptions allowed by the law and which are necessary and consistent with the protection of the public interest in a democratic environment”, he disclosed.
He added “There cannot be any doubt about the cruciality of access to information in the promotion of transparency and public accountability. I have observed an increased utilisation of the Right to Information Act by Ghanaian citizens since its enactment, to access information from public officers. The torch of transparency has really been lit to shine the actions of public institutions and officials in Ghana. Accountability is indeed the winner.
The Government of Ghana has boosted the whistleblower regime by promoting an amendment in 2023 to the Whistleblower Act, 2006 (Act 720). This amendment passed in July 2023, introduces a reward system for whistleblowers by ensuring that thirty percent of all revenue accruing from cases conducted on the strength of a whistleblower’s activity is paid into the Fund, and 10% of the income directly generated by the whistleblower’s efforts is paid to the whistleblower.
As a person vested with the authority to initiate and conduct prosecutions of criminal offenses in the Republic, I have come to understand that any serious endeavour to fight economic crimes must be firmly rooted in the establishment of systems for its deterrence, the undertaking of smooth investigations where same occur and a sound vehicle for prosecution and punishment fairly and efficiently. I recognize that Ghana’s effort to tackle corruption since the inception of President Akufo-Addo’s Government in 2017, embraces an understanding of the way corruption works. This is manifested in the establishment of systems for deterrence, a boost of the means of detection, an undertaking of rapid investigations, and the establishment of a sound vehicle for prosecution and punishment in a fair and just manner
In this regard, the Government has pursued arguably, some of the boldest initiatives in the nation’s history to reform the public sector and strengthen the capacity of institutions to tackle corruption. An example is the very innovative establishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor through an Act of Parliament, as a body clothed with full independence both in law and in fact, to carry out investigations and prosecution of corruption and corruption-related offenses in the public sector”
