NCCE Schools Residents of Zanlerigu On Whistle Blower Act

By Samuel Akapule

Zanlerigu — The Nabdam District Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has schooled the chiefs and people in the Zanlerigu traditional area in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region on the Whistle Blower Act.

The community durbar, sponsored by the European Union (EU) under the theme, "Public Accountability and Environmental Governance," organised at the Zanlerigu Primary School Park on Tuesday, attracted over 450 participants.

Speaking on the topic, "The Whistle Blower Act, the Role of the Citizenry," the Senior Principal Investigator of the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative of Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Augustus Atibila, stated that Ghana as a country had many laws against corruption, but they were not well enforced.

He told the stakeholders that unless they joined forces in fighting corruption, it would be very difficult for the anti-corruption institutions only to deal with the phenomenon effectively.

The Senior Principal Investigator, who sensitised the chiefs and people of the area about the forms of corruption, including bribery and nepotism, stated that the law through the Whistle Blower Act empowers all citizens to report acts of corruption to the appropriate institutions to deal with.

He mentioned CHRAJ, the police, the traditional councils and the Attorney General Department as some of the institutions to report corruption cases to, and entreated all stakeholders to take active part in fighting against the menace.

The District Director of NCCE, Mr Augustine Akugri, who took the participants through the topic, "Legal and Institutional Frameworks, Rule of Law and Public Accountability," stated that the forum formed part of the Accountability, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption(ARAP) project being executed by NCCE and funded by the EU.

He explained that the main objective of the engagement was to promote good governance in Ghana by reducing corruption and improving accountability and compliance with the rule of law.

"The Commission is mandated under the ARAP project to campaign, advocate and lobby for increased accountability and reduction of corruption in Ghana," he stressed.

Mr Akugri also mentioned that the engagement was also aimed at sensitising the citizenry on the legal regimes related to public accountability, especially the Whistle Blower Act to empower them join the crusade in fighting against the canker of corruption in the country.

The forum provided the platform for the participants to ask series of questions bordering on how to tackle corruption, how, when and where to report corruption cases for redress.

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