GBA Slams Akufo-Addo Over Corruption
… Calls For Swift Passage Of Conduct Of Public Officers Bill
The Ghana Bar Association(GBA)has critised President Akufo-Addo’s handling of several reported corruption-related incidents involving some of the appointees and some public officers under the New Patriotic Party ( NPP) administration, saying ” it is largely lethargic and leaves much to be desired.”
The criticism of the President of Ghana by GBA comes on the back of what he said in December 2016 following his election as the 5th President of the 4th Republic.
He said “If your goal in coming to government is to enrich yourself, then don’t come. Go to the private sector. Public service is going to be exactly that; public service.”
Speaking at a news conference in Accra on matters arising from the annual general GBA conference held from 10th September 2023 to 15th September 2023 at Cape Coast, Yaw Acheampong Boafo, the President of GBA, said the way reported corruption-related incidents involving some of the appointees and also amongst some public officers under the current administration and the largely lethargic manner with which they are dealt with and even defended and protected leaves much to be desired.
He said “It must be stressed that as President, the painful truth is that the bucks stops with him. It is enough to say that it will be a sad period for our democratic governance if such a public undertaking that gave millions of Ghanaians hope ends up as a usual campaign rhetoric by a politician.
The jury is still out on this one and we hold the President to his undertaking.” Acheampong Boafo indicated that while his outfit acknowledged reasonable efforts in the fight against corruption in recent years it was the view of the GBA that there is room for improvement noting that things could have been better.
READ ALSO: I feel unsafe in Ghana – Lady cries out after LGBTQ+ related abuse
The GBA President said, “We must all condemn this phenomenon where appointing authorities decide not to appoint men and women of real competence and proven integrity to public and political office, and instead make such appointments on grounds of personal preference or partisan or sectional interests or on considerations of patronage or even by how much financial resources an appointee contributed to the electoral victory.”
He said the country must have a system where laws and sanctions for breaches are consistently and fairly enforced and where people in public offices who embezzle resources are dealt with according to law.
Acheampong Boafo said “In that regard, the GBA looks forward to the swift passage of the Conduct of Public Officers Bill, which we believe will ensure and instill a culture of accountability and integrity amongst public officers.
We call on the Government and Parliament to prioritise and work closely together in making it a reality. Enough of the lip service.”
Source: Adovor Nutifafa
dovor100@gmail.com
