President Nana Akufo-Addo has urged members of the diplomatic corps to report any of his appointees who engage in acts of corruption.
He said such reports must be backed with evidence to enable his office take action on them.
The President made the statement on Tuesday [January 28, 2020] at a meeting with the diplomatic corps at the Peduase Lodge.
He added that the diplomats must desist from making sweeping comments about corruption.
“Should you, members of the diplomatic corps be notified of any evidence of corruption against any of my appointees, I insist that they [should] be shared with my office to enable action to be taken on the matter,” the President said.
Nana Akufo-Addo said such reports will help his administration address the issue of corruption which has dominated discussions in recent times with some diplomats alleging corruption in the Akufo-Addo government.
The Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, Andrew Barnes in a news report in 2019 was reported to have expressed shock at the level of corruption in Ghana, a nation dominated by Christians.
To Mr. Barnes, corruption should not be an issue eating up a country in which Christians constitute approximately 71.2% of the entire population.
“As we all know, corruption distorts market, stalls economic growth, entrenches poverty, debases democracy, undermines the rule of law, and wastes precious government finances.”
“Where procurement means 10%, 20% or even higher additional cost because of kickbacks and bribes, it means ultimately, it is the ordinary Ghanaian who ends up paying. Then government debt becomes larger than it should be…”
Two appointees under investigation
Meanwhile, the President has revealed that two of his appointees are currently under investigations for acts of corruption.
Although the President will not mention the names of these appointees, he said actions will be taken against them if found guilty.
He emphasized that any allegation of corruption made against his appointees will be thoroughly investigated and dealt with.