Ghanaian Journalists Urged to Expose More Corrupt Officials
Ron Strikker, Netherlands’ Ambassador to Ghana, challenged Ghanaian journalists to expose more corruption cases in the country.
He urged them to invest heavily doing investigative journalism as part of the anti corruption crusade in the country.
The foreign diplomat who has been the country for a while, observed that Ghana would be better off without corruption which swallows million of aid, loans and grants.
AmbassadorRon Strikker said this at the launch of the 20th anniversary celebrations of Ghana Integrity Initiative, GII, in Accra.
Ghana Integrity Initiative is the Local Chapter of Transparency International, a global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption.
It was launched in December 1999 as a non-partisan, non-profit civil empowerment organization.
Its vision is to make Ghana a corruption free society, where people and institutions act accountably with integrity.
Ron Strikker explained that corruption is a bad practise that makes institutions suffer.
He proposed shaming and naming officials involved in the act and publicly harasse them
He commended Ghanaians who continue to demonstrate remarkable determination to shy away from corrupt practices that included misuse of office for personal benefit and making unlawful facilitation of payments to fast track processes.
A fellow of the Institute of Democratic Governabce and a political Statistician at the University of Ghana, Professor Joseph Atsu Aryee, pointed out that the cause of widespread corruption in the country was as a result of ineffective national integrity system.
For him, he described government fight against corruption in the country as a joke, inconsistent and selective saying; “there is the need to have a legal framework to check corruption in the country”.
On her part, the Chairperson of Star Ghana Foundation, Dr. Esther Offei Aboagye, also commended GII for advocating strategies to help in the campaign against corruption.
She said GII has over the years helped in policy formulation to fight corruption and called on stakeholders to support GII to rid the country of corruption.
Some of the activities earmarked for the celebration included; GII Anti-Corruption School, Ghana Integrity Awards, Broader Stakeholders’ Engagement and Business Integrity Forums.
The rest are What Do You Know, Media Soiree, 2019 UN International Anti-Corruption Day, Home Coming, Remembering the less privileged as well as Thanksgiving Service.
By: Iddrissu A. Jara
