Former Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, has bemoaned the widespread and pervasive public corruption plaguing Ghanaian society, stating that it has made citizens poorer over time.
Speaking at the Constitution Day Public Lecture organized by the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) Law School and the One Ghana Movement, the former EC boss criticized public institutions and personnel for doing too little to fight the canker.
“Over the years, we have become poorer as a nation and as a people, mainly due to pervasive corruption, particularly in the public sector. Unfortunately, some of our key public institutions are becoming institutions of dubious integrity. Increasingly, candidates who lose elections are alleging manipulations and refusing to accept the results.”
He also called for measures and actions to be taken to improve citizens’ perception of corruption to enhance trust and confidence in public institutions.
“By and large, we have not been able to diffuse the principles of democratic behaviour widely into our society, and there is a general lack of predictability in our social life, which is a disincentive to proper behaviour. Some people will say that these are perceived and not real ailments of our society, but that doesn’t change the picture at all because, for purposes of trust and confidence in public institutions, perception is as important as reality.”
