Statesman and Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Sam Jonah, has admonished members of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSG) to uphold honesty and speak truth to power in Ghana’s fight against corruption.
Speaking at the 2023 annual general conference of the PSG, Sam Jonah, who is also a successful businessman lamented the consequences of corruption on the general population and urged professionals such as pharmacists to help in the fight against the canker by being patriotic and speaking out against corruption and those who indulge in it.
“Corruption deters domestic and foreign investment, undermines trust in public institutions, reduces economic growth, and sadly makes the lives of the poor even more unbearable. Specifically for your sector, corruption endangers lives through fake and substandard medication, unqualified personnel and woefully inadequate infrastructure.
“I recognize that each of you as individuals, for one reason or another, may not be able to speak up. If you wonder why I speak my mind, it is because those of us who have benefitted from the kindness of this nation and the long life God has granted us owe a duty to God and our country to speak up not only for what benefits us personally but for what safeguards the entire society.”
“Corruption and greed have eaten deep into the fabric of our nation. Young people are fast losing hope and the dignity of labour. Public services, which are already paid for by taxpayers’ money are subject to bribes solicited by public officials in order to speed up processes or to exempt people from necessary procedures.”
Mr. Jonah further called for collective consensus to discourage conditions and fertile grounds for corruption to fester.
“Any society which creates conditions for politics to become the easiest and, by far, the most lucrative means of enrichment and self-aggrandizement, is a society that is doomed.”
