Fight against corruption :  Akufo-Addo is a victim of his own high standard - Kofi Bentil

Senior Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil says President Akufo-Addo is a victim of his own high standard in the fight against corruption.

Kofi Bentil said Ghanaians had high expectations for President Akufo-Addo before he came into office thereby projecting the responsibility to him to fight corruption head-on.

Sharing his views on the comment of the President at the Bar Conference in Takoradi and the perception that corruption has worsened under the current government, Kofi Bentil said the President Akufo-Addo did not say anything wrong at the conference but due to the high expectations for him, it looks like he was rather defending himself.

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"The President didn't say anything wrong. People feel that the president is defending himself as they had high expectations."

Citing the Australia visa saga, he said there direct and ultimate responsibility and someone has to take responsibility for the scandal, but it seems the President want to always detach himself from the issues.

"Just look at the Australia visa saga. It happened. Somebody took the people there and disgraced this country. The report shows that money was collected."

President's comment

President Akufo-Addo has refuted claims that he has been clearing officials in his government indicted in corruption scandals without evidence.

Speaking at the Ghana Bar Conference in Takoradi in reaction to accusations from the opposition NDC that he has been clearing his corrupt officials, President Akufo-Addo said it is not his duty to clear officials, adding that he has never independently declared any official innocent in instances where they are alleged to be involved in corrupt deals.

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“It is not my job to clear or convict any person accused of wrongdoing or of engaging in acts of corruption. My job is to act on allegations of corruption by referring to the issue or issues to the proper investigative agencies for the relevant enquiry and necessary action. That is exactly what has been done since I assumed the mantle of leadership on 7th January, 2017,” he said.

While stressing that all alleged acts of corruption recorded in his government have proved to be false following investigations by the CID, CHRAJ among others, the President said there is a deliberate attempt by his opponents to hang a tag of corruption on his government.

He said such a plot against his government “will not work.”

“If an appointee is cleared of any wrongdoing, the evidence adduced and recommendations made by these agencies, after the investigations are concluded, are what clear the accused persons, not myself. None of these agencies has ever indicated any pressure from the Executive over their investigations.

NDC response

The General Secretary of the opposition NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia says President Akufo-Addo and the governing NPP have lowered the standard for the fight against corruption in Ghana.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, Asiedu Nketia insisted that the President “lowered the bar for the fight against corruption at the Bar conference” held on Monday.

Asiedu Nketia has also asked President Akufo-Addo to take responsibility for the numerous corruption scandals happening under his watch.

“His [President Akufo-Addo’s] failure to admit the existence of corruption in his government is a very clear indication that he does not even recognize the problem and cannot be counted upon to address it. Because if you don’t know the problem, how can you solve it? So those of you who are counting on him and hoping that one day he will get up and fight corruption, your hopes will be dashed.”