Governance and Corruption Adviser to the President Daniel Batidam has suggested to Ghanaians to fight corruption if they want the country to move progressively.
This, he suggested to politicians to stop the blame game in fighting the menace in society, saying the argument has not chased corruption away.
Mr. Batidam intimated that corruption remains a challenge and that the citizenry must see measures put in place by the government in curbing it.
‘Corruption has been a challenge and remains a challenge in our country, there is no argument about the fact that, if we are to make progress as a country, one of the areas we must focus on and deliberately through policy , legislation, mobilisation of our people commit to tackling corruption, there is no dispute about that. That is what I believe every political party seeking the mandate of the people keeps saying it will fight corruption when given the opportunity, if we fail to accept the magnitude of the problem then we are not going to get anywhere, definitely corruption is a challenge, but we must also be seen to be doing something about it,’ he said.
Asked on Ultimate Breakfast Show hosted by Lantam Papanko, how they have performed as a government, he explained that he always warns politicians not to be judges in their own cases.
He believes the electorate should be the best judges if government is tackling corruption or not.
‘You talked about performance, well I have always warned people not to be judges in their own case, it is not ours, it’s not mine to say how we have performed, it’s the Ghanaian people, electorate who must determine that, but at least we have to be truthful if certain things have not yet happened, we must explain why they have not happened,’ he stated.
The Governance Adviser said it is wrong for anybody to brush Ghana’s performance off in its quest in fighting corruption.
‘Between 2009 and 2015, Ghana has moved in its core of corruption perception index from 39 out of 100 to 48 over 100 that is almost 10% points, I don’t think anybody can brush aside such a movement as insignificant.
Ghana is doing something right about corruption, am quick to tell you that we are not there yet, and it’s not just about the marks that we scored in Transparency International Index, it’s also about the confidence and trust Ghanaians have about the government. When citizens are asked to pay taxes, make sacrifices, there must be something to show that there is a benefit.
He called on the electorate to retain the president John Dramani Mahama in December polls.
‘The president wants his campaign for his re-election to be issue-based with evidence, providing Ghanaians the truth, facts and figures, it’s not about throwing dust, mud at the people or at political opponents, he said.
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