No serious proof against my appointees on corruption so far – Prez. Akufo-Addo

President Akufo-Addo has echoed that members of his administration will be subjected to thorough investigation if found guilty of corrupt practices.

President Akufo-Addo added that so far, there hasn’t been any serious evidence against anyone.

Speaking at the African Investment Forum 2018 in South Africa, President Akufo-Addo said high office holders in the country must be accountable to the citizenry.

“We have to make an example, we who are in office in Ghana, so that if allegations are made and evidence is given to suggest that members of my administration are indulging in corrupt acts,…I see to it that it is investigated. So far investigations have not yielded any serious evidence but it is important that it is known that people in my administration will themselves be subject to scrutiny if they go off schedule, so I believe it is those two things. First of all the institutional arrangement, which the office is all about and secondly the attitudes of me and those in government about the attitudes of corruption.”

There have been several cases of alleged corruption in the administration of President Akufo-Addo, but in most cases, people have been cleared after a probe, whereas a few have been removed from their positions, and others have been generally ignored as lacking merit.

President Akufo-Addo's comment comes days after the  Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), suspended Fred Dzeny its Eastern Regional Director after the latter said there was the need for incumbent governments to prosecute corrupt appointees within to prove their commitment to fighting corruption.

A statement issued by EOCO and signed by its Executive Director, ACP K. K. Amoah (Rtd), said the comments made by Mr Dzeny through his personal utterances were unprofessional, hence the suspension.

Some Ghanaians subsequently criticized the suspension, saying it was a dent on the image of a government that came into office with a promise to fight corruption head-on.

National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer hopeful, Ekwow Spio Garbrah, has urged political parties to put in place mechanisms to deal with financial malfeasance.

“Political parties in general, not just NDC, must have mechanisms with their own party that identifies miscreants, people who misbehave, especially people who misbehave with money,” he told Citi News monitored by Prime News Ghana.

Mr Spio Garbrah said checking these diversions at the party level could have positive effects on governance.

“The party itself must have mechanisms for disciplining people who can be proven to have diverted party resources because the problem with corruption in Ghana is that it often begins in the party. When party executives misbehave and nothing happens to them, the same individuals often end up in government and then continue their misbehaviour.”

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