‘It’s time to hit the nail on the heads of corrupt leaders’ – Domelevo

Former Auditor General, Daniel Domelevo, has called on anti-corruption bodies to aggressively investigate and prosecute corrupt elected officials without fear or favor.

He said it during a panel discussion organized by the Harvard Club of Ghana at the University of Ghana School of Law on the theme: “Corruption to Integrity: Transforming Governance in Ghana.”

Mr. Domelevo believes that prosecuting those in positions of power would significantly help to limit the issue.

“We don’t need to go to our schools to teach our children what corruption is. Just hit the people at the top and everyone will learn a lesson. So, we must priorities and hit the nail on the head. It’s leadership crises, it has nothing to do with our culture. When government is bent on stealing, its only that that can save us.” Mr. Domelevo stated.

Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, called on media practitioners to adopt a more activist role in the fight against corruption.

“We need a National Media Commission that is not controlled by politicians, but that’s truly and genuinely independent and voted for by journalists themselves to go in there, so we can take away public service broadcasting from the government.

If you have a public service broadcasting that is not dependent on commercial returns and politicians cannot own them, we will have a media that is more activist on corruption,” Bight Simons stated.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the Economic and Organized Crime Office and Commissioner of Police, Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, stated that her office remains committed to ending corruption.

Ghana has long been viewed as a beacon of democracy and stability in West Africa. However, the country’s persistent struggle with corruption remains a major issue, undermining economic progress and eroding public faith in government institutions.

“I have on several occasions requested for information from the Office of the President and if there’s any institution that responds faster, then it is the Office of the President. The moment they see the letter they respond, so it won’t be an issue if it comes up that EOCO should investigate or prosecute any personnel at the office of the President as long as it’s within our mandate and with the necessary evidence. We would not look left or right.” The EOCO boss assures.

For the fourth consecutive year, Ghana has stagnated with a score of 43 out of 100 on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released by Transparency International (TI). This compares to Ghana’s highest score of 48 in 2014.

Source:onuaonline.com