By Albert Futukpor, GNA
Tamale, Nov 19, GNA - Discussants at the fourth Accountability, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme National Dialogue on Whistleblowing have called on government to establish the Whistleblower Reward Fund to encourage citizens to report wrongdoing.
They argued that whistleblowing was dangerous, especially when the confidentiality of the whistleblower could not be guaranteed, hence the need for the establishment of the fund to assure people of adequate reward for reporting crimes.
The event, held in Tamale on Tuesday, was organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) with support from the European Union.
Participants included representatives from public institutions, traditional authorities, non-governmental organisations, the media amongst others.
Sections 20 to 22 of the Whistleblower Act, 2006, Act 720, makes for the establishment of the Whistleblower Reward Fund to provide funds for the payment of monetary rewards to whistleblowers.
However, 13 years since the passage of the Whistleblower Act, the Whistleblower Reward Fund has not been established, a situation, which some people have described as a drawback to efforts to promote whistleblowing in the country.
Mrs Mary Awelana Addah, Programmes Manager of the Ghana Integrity Initiative, who was one of the discussants during the dialogue, said people would be willing to blow the whistle when they knew that they would be rewarded, hence the need for government to establish the fund.
Excerpts from a study conducted in 2017 by the Nation Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) on "Public opinion on corruption, accountability and environmental governance" showed that 64.7 per cent of respondents knew of places to report acts of corruption, as against 35.7%, who indicated otherwise.
Although, the law encourages and supports individuals to blow the whistle on unlawful or other illegal conduct or corrupt practices of other persons, it is believed that most citizens hesitate to blow the whistle because of fear of victimisation.
According to the study, 34.6% of respondents indicated that whistle blowers in the country did not receive any form of protection from anti-corruption agencies, whilst 28.9% believed that anti-corruption agencies would protect the identities of persons, who reported cases of corruption.
Mrs Awelana Addah said besides the establishment of the Whistleblower Reward Fund, there was the need for intensive awareness creation on the country's whistleblowing regime for all to understand it and accordingly report such acts to promote development.
Nana Amua Sakyi, Director of Public Education at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, who was also a discussant, expressed the need for the citizenry to put pressure on the government and Members of Parliament to do the needful to establish the Whistleblower Reward Fund.
Some participants suggested the establishment of technological platforms that would enable citizens to file complaints on wrongdoing in society in a manner that their identities would not be disclosed, while others also called for protection of witnesses during course of investigations.
Madam Josephine Nkrumah, Chairman of the NCCE, expressed the need for more work to be done to encourage citizens to play their roles in responding to corruption by adequately blowing the whistle.
She further expressed the need for anti-corruption institutions to put in place measures to safeguard the confidentiality of whistleblowers to encourage them to report wrongdoing in society.
GNA
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