Anti Corruption Crusaders Salute Farmers
Ahead of the International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) celebrations slated for Monday – 9 th December,
2019, partners of Anti-Corruption and Transparency (ACT) week comprising Ghana Anti-Corruption
Coalition (GACC), Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice
(CHRAJ), Economic and Organized Crime Organisation (EOCO), National Commission for Civic Education
(NCCE), Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), PenPlusBytes, STAR Foundation and other stakeholders wish to commend our proud farmers for their immense support and delivery towards the supply of the national food basket which fuels the economy towards sustainable and transformative development.
As part of global efforts in addressing the corruption canker, the United Nations General Assembly, by Resolution 58/4 of October 2003, adopted the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).
Paragraph 7 of Resolution 58/4 designated December 9 as the International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) in order to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of stakeholders in combating and preventing it.
Subsequently, on an annual basis, the IACD is celebrated globally on 9th December to create global awareness on the harmful effects of corruption and the need for concerted and sustained partnership among stakeholders in order to effectively and efficiently address the corruption canker.
Since 2017, Ghana has resorted to the ACT Week (i.e. Anti-Corruption and Transparency Week) to mark the IACD.
The 2019 ACT Week is slated for 2nd – 9
th December, 2019 and will seek to bring together stakeholders from government, public and private sectors, academia, media, general public among others.
The 2019 ACT Week is under the theme “NACAP: Mobilizing National Efforts and Resources to Combat Corruption, five (5) years on”.
Corruption has the potential to deprive ordinary citizens of the benefits that should accrue to them, such as freedom from hunger in an age of plenty.
It will therefore be difficult for a country like Ghana to achieve food security when poor governance takes over institutional checks and balances.
With the pervasive nature of Corruption, it equally affects the agricultural sector beyond measure and if this is not addressed it has the tendency to affect all players within the entire Agricultural value chain.
Subsequently, this will affect consumers and distort markets.
In this regard, partners of the ACT Week
seek to draw the attention of policy makers and all other stakeholders within the Agricultural Sector to eschew acts of corruption within the sector and rather promote integrity within the sector.
Alleged acts of corruption within the sector including diverging of premix fuel, fertilizers among other farming inputs is a cause of worry owing to monies vested in securing these inputs.
Further, other initiative(s) around Planting for Food and Jobs, cocoa spraying initiatives among others should jealously be guarded against acts of corruption and when it does happen, the necessary steps and mechanisms should be put in place to punish and salvage same.
On this day partners of the ACT Week wish all farmers and stakeholders within the Agricultural Sector value chain a corruption free happy farmers day and commend them for the relentless efforts and sacrifices in feeding Ghana.
Ayekoooooooo!!!
