A former Minister of Finance and Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) Dr Kwesi Botchwey has bemoaned the upsurge of corruption which has bedeviled almost every institution in the country.
According to him the worst thing happening to Ghana is the level of corruption affecting every key institution in the country.
“We have institutions; I think the worst thing that is happening to our institutions are, the width of corruption that is holding us back as a people,” he stated.
This he noted has negatively affected the economic fortunes of the country hence the urgent need for the country to build efficient, effective and dynamic public institution of through the proposed long term National Development.
Dr Botchwey expressed grave concerns about the high level corruption associated with service delivery where officials demand bribe before services are provided.
“we have come to a point where it is virtually impossible to obtain any services from any institution without paying a bribe, so we build key institutions over time, the integrity is eroded or we don’t allow them to work ’’ he lamented.
He was worried that institutions are often times not allowed to work by themselves and often times gets eroded by corruption.
For Ghana to make any meaningful progress, he emphasized the need for institutions of state to be allowed to function properly.
Dr Botchwey expressed these sentiments when he addressed a Stakeholders forum organized by IMANI GHANA on the topic; “Going Beyond the2016 Elections, challenges and opportunities’’.
By CHRISTIAN KPESESE
