From Sheila Williams, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The African Union (AU) has raised an eyebrow about the alarming rate of bribery and corruption in Ghana and other parts of the continent and called on civil society organizations to exert pressure on African governments to do the right thing.
“African civic society needs to be strong enough to pressure government to do what they are supposed to do and exert pressure against corruption,” the AU Peer Review Mechanism Liaison Officer, Batlokoa Makong,has said at a two-day training workshop for Journalists in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Corruption is one intractable challenge that has bedeviled many developing countries particularly Africa of which Ghana is no exception. Various governments have adopted different approaches to eradicate the pervasive corruption that exists in the country. For example, the erstwhile administration of President Agyekum Kufuor declared a “zero-tolerance to corruption”.
Amidst the strategies adopted by various governments, Ghana still lags behind and ranks poorly in the fight against the age-old canker – corruption.Ghanawas ranked 78 out of 180 countries on the 2018 global Corruption Perception Index, according to Transparency International.
The Ghanaian Civil service has unarguably become a cesspool of corruption. However, since they know how to cover their tracks, no one dares to look in their direction.No politician, no matter how powerful, can pull through a scam in the public sector without the active connivance of the civil servants. Regrettably, when the hammer falls, the politicians take the flak while the civil servants walk away smelling fresh like rose.
Readers will recall the registrar at the Births and Deaths Registry, Wa in the Northern Region collected revenue of GH¢224,760.00 and paid the amount into his private account instead of the approved bank accounts, according to the 2016 Auditor’s Report.
Mr. Makong said AU considered bribery and corruption as unethical, unacceptable and inconsistent with Global Code of Conduct, adding that, although the AU can penalize countries that do not adhere to what is stipulated in its charter, it still follows former Organizations of African Unity (OAU) principles of non-interference on each member States.
Meanwhile, a Continental Citizen Report Findings on Monitoring Africa Charter on Democracy Elections and Governance (ACDEG) Implementation has revealed huge gaps in implementing the African Union Charter on human rights issues such as freedom of expression and association.
“Freedom of expression is still a pipedream and is not guaranteed in most African ACDEG member States,” ActionAid Pan Africa Governance Adviser,Johannes Chiminya, has stated.
The African Union (AU) charter has been signed by 46 countries and ratified by 33 member countries with Ghana ratified ACDEG member. ACDEG Acts 2 (10) stipulates that all member states must “promote the establishment of necessary conditions to foster citizens’ participation, transparency, access to information, freedom of the press and accountability in the management of public affairs.However, most citizens who demand an end to corruption in most African Countries, are often harassed or victimized the findings revealed.
Most countries, Mr. Chiminya noted, passed laws to constrain activities of civic society organizations so that they stay off on corruption.
“The constitutional law hardly empowered citizens to speak out against corruption,” he stated.
Prof. Kwame Karikari, a Consultant in Governance and Democracy and an academia from Ghana,on his part, stressed on a greater need for citizens’ capacitation to speak out against corruption in their various countries.
