Fight against Corruption: I’Ve Not Interfered In Aunty Ceci’s Probe –President

The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has said that he has not influenced any investigations involving his appointees.

According to him, there is no evidence to the contrary, and as a matter of fact, the seamless probe by the Special Prosecutor about the former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources bears testament.

President Akufo-Addo said this on Thursday, December 21, 2023 at Jubilee House, when he launched the evaluation of Ghana’s maiden National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP).

The President recalled the various allegations of corruption against his appointees since 2017, including the ‘cash for seat’ probe against then Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kyerematen, the bribe allegation against then Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko, the Australia visa racketeering, the BOST scandal and the recent Cecilia Abena Dapaah issue.

“No evidence or allegation has been forthcoming, such that the executive, i.e., myself as president, has made any attempt to influence the outcome of any of these investigations.

“The latest episode involving the former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, is evident for all to see,” he remarked.

For the umpteenth time, he ignored the clearing agent tag, championed by the opposition party, citing that every single alleged act of corruption against his appointees had been investigated.

He also reiterated that those appointees had been cleared by independent bodies, such as CHRAJ, the Criminal Investigations Department of the Police, and in some cases, Parliament itself.

“It is not my job to clear or convict any person accused of wrongdoing or engaging in acts of wrongdoing, in spite of the effort of some to tag me as a caring agent. That is the job of the courts and the law enforcement agencies,” he repeated yesterday.

NACAP EVALUATION

On the subject matter, President Akufo-Addo indicated that a decade after the implementation of NACAP, it is prudent to assess its impact.

He added that, apart from evaluating how the plan had aided in the reduction of corruption in Ghana, it was also important to make the necessary adjustments, depending on the outcome of the assessment.

“The evaluation is important to assess the contribution of NACAP to the fight against corruption in all spheres and to form the basis to develop our next NACAP, i.e., NACAP Two 2025–2034. The above underscores the importance of the evaluation exercise and I call on all stakeholders to support its success,” he asserted.

He said an evaluation team of diverse expertise, including those in political science, economics and gender, has been constituted for the assessment.

He said national evaluators from the Ghana Statistical Services and the international counterpart from the UNODC would undertake the exercise with best practices and guaranteed integrity.

COMMITMENT

The Chairman of the NACAP High-Level Implementation Committee, Emmanuel Adumua-Bossman, who is a Deputy Chief of Staff, said in welcoming the guest that, the programme requires the commitment of all gathered to ensure the provision of “a comprehensive, reliable and workable action plan at the end of the process, by the middle of 2024.”

He said their goal was to ensure that, at the end of the evaluation, Ghana would be ready to implement NACAP II and thereby consolidate the gains made under the current dispensation.

ANTICIPATION

The Deputy Commissioner, Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Richard Quayson, giving an overview of NACAP said the next phase must be seen as not just a continuation, but an opportunity to consolidate the gains and commitments made in the fight against corruption.

“It is an opportunity to refine our approaches, address emerging threats and engage a broader spectrum of stakeholders to ensure inclusivity and effectiveness. We, therefore, commend the government for the bold decision to invite the IES of the UNODC to partner with the GSS for a rigorous and thorough evaluation.

“The lessons learned will be the compass guiding us towards a more resilient and effective NACAP II,” he said.

The Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim, said the process for the evaluation has already commenced.

He said evaluators will move to all stakeholders for their responses and the expectation is to release the outcome in June 2024.

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