The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has sensitized the people of Kankyiabo in the Bodi District of the Western North Region on the need to contribute towards creating an atmosphere of good governance by reducing incidents of corruption and holding public officials accountable at all times.
At a community durbar on Public Accountability and Environmental Governance, aimed at empowering the public to demand accountability from public officials, the NCCE officials stressed the need for the public to be agents in promoting the good governance agenda, by reducing corruption and improving upon accountability, which is in compliance with existing legal provisions.
The District Police Commander, ASP Erasmus Yao Afeyi, who spoke on the theme for the programme, “The Role of the Police in Fighting Corruption in Ghana” , said the fight against corruption needs a holistic approach, which must involve all key National Anti-Corruption Action Plan stakeholders as well as the entire citizenry.
He defined Corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain and cited bribery, extortion, influence peddling and looting as some forms of corrupt acts.
ASP Afeyi cautioned the public to desist from influencing the police with bribes and described the situation as a social canker which damaged the image of the Ghana police Service and impeded the police from enforcing the law.
He said the role of the Police Service in fighting corruption was to “Arrest, Investigate and Prosecute perpetrators” adding that, the Ghana Police Service has its internal anti-corruption mechanisms to check the conduct of its personnel.
This, he said include, an Internal Audit Unit, Code of Conduct for the Police Service, and the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Bureau (PIPS) which checked the actions and inactions of the police personnel.
He said ‘bail’ was free and that citizens must refrain from paying bribes to police officers and allow the law to take its cause.
The NCCE District Director, Mr. Emmanuel Awotwe, explained the Whistleblower Act, 2006 (Act 720) to the participants, touching on the tenets of whistleblowing, the various breaches that constitutes an impropriety for whistle blowing and also who qualifies to make a disclosure of impropriety.
He said there was a reward package for whistleblowers and encouraged the participants to be law abiding and responsible citizens while keeping their environments clean to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals: 6, 11 – 15.
By Lawrencia Esi Annan, GNA
