Anti-corruption agency calls for codes of ethics
Good Governance Africa (GGA), an organisation which works to improve government performance in Africa, has commended Anas Aremeyaw Anas for exposing alleged corruption in the Judiciary.
The independent non-partisan research organisation equally commended President John Dramani Mahama and the Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Theodora Georgina Wood, for their respective actions to speedily and conclusively deal with the matter, so as to help restore credibility to Ghana’s judicial system.
“While this may represent the pinnacle of corruption, earlier investigative works by Anas reveal the pervasiveness of the canker across the entire strata of Ghanaian society. It cannot be overemphasised that corruption makes society uneconomic and unsafe, with the poor being the most hurt,” the civil society organisation said in a statement signed by its Ghana Chief Executive Officer, Ms Tina Asante-Apeatu.
The organisation said it was unfortunate that the poorest of the poor who could not pay bribes for public services were largely the victims of ferry and other avoidable accidents due to poor enforcement of safety regulations. And it was from them that relief goods were diverted in times of disasters such as floods. They were the recipients of the poorest health and education services.
Conversely, others caught in the vulnerability bracket, but with some advantage, cut corners or shaved the top to make an extra cedi, the statement said.
Lack of transparency
The organisation expressed the belief that the lack of transparency, an important component of good governance, bred corruption that permeated every level of society and, therefore, when processes and procedures were clearly laid down and enforced, it would help minimise corruption.
Furthermore, it said, Ghana was at that inflection point where questions be asked such as “How do we, collectively as a nation, promote good governance in every aspect of our daily experience; and how do we build and strengthen our institutions and personnel to achieve this objective?”
It called for good governance tenets to be inculcated in daily lives right from our childhood. Basic schools curricula should cover good governance just as it covered religion and moral studies.
Moral fabric
That way, it said, it would become knowledge that would totally be part of the moral fibre, adding that “and if we grow up to find ourselves in responsible positions, it will then be less difficult to do right even in challenging situations”.
“We believe Codes of Ethics should be developed for all institutions, be them government, civil society and private businesses, and must be strictly enforced and adhered to.
“This is because these are binding principles of engagement and if all businesses or professional bodies will abide by their respective rules of engagement, the private sector, which is held as the supply side of corruption, eventually will be less impulsive to bribe state officials, even if approached,” it stated.