The Director of Research, Gender and Equality at the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Dr Henrietta Asante-Sarpong has revealed that the Police Service followed by the Judicial Service recorded a high incidence of corruption and bribery at its working environment as well as among Ghanaians.
This was curtained in a report by the NCCE which outlined public opinion on the status of corruption, public accountability and environmental governance in public jurisdictions and further said bribery was the common act of corruption among the citizenry in the public space.
Dr Henrietta Asante-Sarpong said this at the launch of research report titled “End-Line Survey on Public Opinion on the State of Corruption, Public Accountability and Environmental Governance in Ghana” in Accra.
It was organized by the NCCE under its Accountability Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme (ARAP) with support from the European Union (EU) aimed at promoting good governance and scale up the fight against corruption across the country.
The NCCE in relation to ARAP engaged in a baseline study in 2017 of public perception on corruption, public accountability and environmental governance across the country which created a platform for the NCCE to sensitize the citizenry on anti-corruption.
She said the findings in the end-line survey revealed that Ghanaians hardly report issues relating to corruption to the appropriate agencies and however called on the public to take interest in reporting this clandestine acts to help the relevant state agencies to block the loose ends in the governance structure of the public space.
For her part, the Executive Director of Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) Mrs Linda Ofori-Kwafo called for the protection of informants and said their identities must remain confidential to enable the citizenry to boldly report the canker in the system.
“The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament have fervently worked hard to uncover corrupt activities in the public space and culprits were sanctioned as such”, she said indicating that the GII have commended the PAC for its fight in exposing corrupt activities in public institutions.
The Head of the European Union to Ghana, Ambassador Diana Acconsia said the fight against corruption must be a collective effort by all stakeholders to promote good governance as well as nation building for the socio-economic development of the country.
She therefore urged relevant institutions at the fore front to champion the cause of corruption and be committed in the discharge of their duties to achieve the mandate in the fight against corruption across the country.
Ben Laryea reporting from Accra, Ghana
