Dr. Edward Mahama, flag-bearer of the People’s National Convention (PNC) has outlined measures to fight corruption if voted into power in December.

He said corruption has been the bane to Ghana’s development and the need to fight it is now.

Speaking at the IEA/Joy F.M. organised Presidential debate on Thursday, Dr. Mahama categorised the fight against corruption into different levels- Personal, Legislative, and Governmental.

On the personal level, Dr. Mahama said the President who is the number one individual on the land, must be seen to abhor corruption, and that is what his presidency is ready to provide. He said the era of “do as I say and not as I do” will be a thing of the past and that he will provide leadership by example for all to follow.

On the Legislative front, Dr. Mahama said he will pass stringent laws such as conflict of interest, freedom of information, procurement and the whistle blowers laws which will deter people from engaging in corrupt practices.

Separating the Attorney General’s office from that of the Ministry of Justice is the way forward in fighting corruption at the governmental level.

This he said will enable the impartial Attorney General to prosecute all offences both in the Private and Public Institutions without regards to political affiliations.

Asked whether he would introduce the Asset Declaration Regime as a way to fighting corruption, Dr. Mahama said he has no personal problem declaring his assets, something he has done before when he worked in a U.K. firm.

He said in Ghana, assets are declared but not to the public, insisting, that will only work if the freedom of Information Law is functional.

“Ghana has all the laws to run an accountable, corruption free government. The problem is implementation”.

He said a PNC government led by Dr. Edward Mahama is ready to implement all the laws for purposes of growth and development.


Author: Nathan Gadugah