Everyone including you and me can help prevent this cancer called public sector corruption. If you are a public sector employee, a government supplier, or an ordinary member of the public, as a duty or responsibility you can learn about it and take action to prevent it.
We can stop corruption; it means we have more public funds that will be spent as intended – such as maintaining schools, hospitals, roads, and other vital public services such as health, education, and projects.
The question is; Where do I start?
Start by informing yourself and others about what corruption is and how to spot it. We must learn how to spot weaknesses that make corruption more likely and red flags that indicate it’s happening.
In our African culture, we have the behaviour of making excuses for wrongdoing and or preaching forgiveness. In a recent experience in which a group of us came together to fight against injustice and demand accountability, some people began expressing sentiments that suggest it could be me tomorrow, so we need to deal with it with caution.
If we make excuses for people who break the law leaving room for ourselves to be dealt with leniently, we can be sure we are not going to achieve anything today, tomorrow, and ever.
We must learn about the impacts of corruption in our society as well as the public sector. We have an obligation to report corruption. We have an obligation to report and encourage reporting corruption in your community or workplace. By making a complaint you can help expose public sector corruption and misconduct.
Speaking up and making a complaint helps to expose corrupt activities and risks, keep the public sector honest, transparent, and accountable, stop dishonest practices and ensure public sector employees act in the public interest.
We must hold ourselves accountable. When no one is watching us, would we do the right thing, or would we take a little harmless pin when the rules are that we should not take a pin?
If you work for a state government department or agency, a council or if you are a member of parliament, you must report wrongdoing and avoid condoning or participation.
You need to be aware of, and meet, the standards expected of you as a public sector employee. These include-Public Administration Acts as set by law, Code of Conduct for Public Sector Employees, your organisation’s values statements, and human resources policies among others.
These standards should help you decide if you have witnessed corrupt behaviour and if yes, what actions you must take. Corruption hurts all Africans. Corruption hurts all Ghanaians both in the Diaspora and especially those home.
We must hold ourselves accountable-then hold others accountable especially those in leadership positions to be examples we must emulate.
Report corruption
To whom do I report corruption when the institutions in Ghana are the most corrupt? We must come together as a people and make demands by exposing them and demanding the law deals with them accordingly.
It might be impossible to eradicate corruption, but it can be minimised significantly if we stand and fight it.
This is The Diaspora Lens.
Ghadym
