The government of President Akufo-Addo has touted its credentials on the war against corruption, stressing that its commitment to the canker is more than the previous Mills-Mahama National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration.
Speaking at the International Anti-Corruption Week celebration in Accra yesterday, Vice-President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia said “this government prides itself on its strong anti-corruption stance, and will partner with both state and non-state organisations to fight corruption and build the nation on a strong foundation of ethics and integrity.”
He said “on the instructions of the President, the Ministry of Finance has increased budgetary allocations to all the accountability institutions of state, including Parliament of Ghana, the Judiciary, CHRAJ, EOCO, the Office of the Attorney-General, Ministry of Justice, the Auditor General, the Office of the Special Prosecutor and the Ghana Police Service.”
The Vice-President disclosed that “the operational budget of CHRAJ, for example, has increased from GH¢1.8 million in 2016 to GH¢5 million in 2019, and GH¢12.2 million for the 2020 fiscal year.”
He indicated that CHRAJ had been given GH¢2.5 million to coordinate and monitor the implementation of National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP).
“We are also supporting CHRAJ to rebuild the portion of its offices destroyed by fire in 2013 to ensure it is able to execute its constitutional mandate effectively. This is how seriously the government of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is taking the implementation of NACAP,” he added.
He revealed that other accountability institutions received increases between 25% and 34% between 2017 and 2019, adding that to further boost the fight against corruption, “deficits in logistics and personnel of law enforcement agencies, especially the Ghana Police Service, and other accountability institutions, are being addressed.”
He also talked about measures being implemented such as what he described as “a disruptive technology to disrupt corruption,” before it happens.
These, he said, included but not limited to the digital drivers’ licence and digital vehicle registration process which have been implemented to eliminate the intermediaries or middlemen and reduced opportunities for corruption at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority.
He also mentioned the digitization agenda, which include the National Identification System, Digital Postal Address System, Paperless Port Systems, E-Justice Systems, pensions and insurance data, digitized land registry and Mobile Money Interoperability System, as some of the measures to enhance transparency and accountability and improve the efficiency of government agencies.
Dr. Bawumia announced plans by government to roll out the implementation of a Client Service Charters for all public services, saying it “will require all public services to publish service charters stating the services they provide, how the public can access those services, the fees or charges for those services, where or how to pay the fees or charges, where or who to report to internally when they are dissatisfied with the service or encounter delays, anomalies or misconduct.”
He, therefore, emphasised the need for all public institutions – MDAs and MMDAs alike – to implement NACAP and submit reports to CHRAJ.
Government, he said, was also looking forward to the passage of the Conduct of Public Officers (COPO) Bill into law, which is believed to be the oldest outstanding bill after the RTI Bill was passed this year.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent
