According to Dr. Kojo Asante, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), the government’s slogan of funding state institutions to combat corruption has been mainly problematic owing to a lack of matching outcomes.
He contends that, although providing the agencies with the necessary assistance is important, the deep-rooted levels of corruption that continue to linger around public offices seriously undermine attempts to combat the scourge, particularly in the public sector.
Dr. Asante was speaking in response to the CDD-recent Ghana’s post-election poll, which revealed that, despite the President’s promise, the majority of Ghanaians lack trust in him to safeguard the public purse and combat corruption.
Dr. Asante said in an iintervieew that the battle against corruption must begin to yield tangible results.
“When the argument is being made that resources have been pumped into institutions, that is fine, but if it is not showing output in terms of actually fighting corruption, then it comes back to the conversation of what is the government doing about corruption? Is it working, or it seems to be working?”
“If that is not happening, then it means that there is a problem. Then, we should go back and look at what the monies are being used for. So for me, it is not enough to say they have invested in institutions. They have to show what the institutions have produced because when the term is over, no one is going to say that you invested more in fighting corruption. That is an input, not an outcome”, he said.
What The Poll Foound
62% of 2,400 Ghanaians polled in a post-election study conducted between May 23 and June 3, 2021, said they lack trust in President Akufo-Addo’s capacity “to safeguard the country’s financial resources and prevent corruption in the next four years.”
“While Ghanaians are split (48% vs. 48%) on the government’s ability to ensure that rule of law is upheld in the next four years, majority [of them] are not confident in its ability to protect the country’s financial resources (53%) and curb corruption and official impunity (62%),” the report added.
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), President Akufo-main Addo’s opponents, have repeatedly criticized him for presiding over what they claim is widespread corruption, despite the President’s insistence that his battle against corruption is unparalleled.
However, in this round of the post-election poll, Ghanaians believe President Akufo-Addo would be unable to combat corruption and impunity in his second term.
Read Also: Body of British journalist to be repatriated
