Corruption fight: Individuals should be allowed to prosecute – Auditor-General

Auditor-General, Daniel Domelevo wants the country’s laws to be amended to allow individuals to take up prosecution of corruption-related cases.

 According to the Auditor-General, prosecution of these cases must not be the preserve of government agencies because it affects society as a whole.

Domelevo said if this is done, individuals can be compensated to encourage more people to venture into such fields which he said could help reduce the prevalence of corruption in the country.

Speaking at a town hall meeting organized by Citi FM and the Media Foundation for West Africa, Domelevo said: “I think seriously that we need to privatize or commercialize the prosecution of corruption.”

“It is an offence that affects all of us so we should all have the right to prosecute corrupt practices. This will help check corruption because if I’m aiming at prosecuting you, you will also aim at prosecuting me. So we will be checking each other.”

Read also:  I am ready to lose my job if ... Auditor-General

The Auditor-General suggested that the state should also motivate people who prosecute corruption as a way of creating employment for others.

“I’m sure that some of the journalists and some of the lawyers and accountants will devote most of their time to fighting corruption because if they win those cases the state must compensate them. People should make living fighting corruption.

Currently, people are using their own resources to fight corruption and they are even in danger.”The theme for the event is “Assessing the Performance of the Media in Fighting Corruption in Ghana: Two years into Akufo-Addo’s Administration,” the Auditor-General added

Over the years, Ghana has consistently scored low marks in the annual Corruption Perception Index, evidencing the presence of corruption in the country.

As a candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo campaigned on commitments to curb public sector corruption if elected.

Ghana’s performance on the corruption perception index increased from a score of 40 in 2017 to 41 in 2018. The report placed Ghana at 78 out of 180 countries; an improvement from 2017’s rank of 81.

According to figures from Transparency International, the score is a positive departure from the continuous drop the country has been experiencing since 2015’s score of 47.

Government in a statement said it is doing everything possible to reduce corruption in the country, and urged Ghanaians to rally behind it to achieve the vision.

“We reiterate government’s commitment to combating the menace of public sector corruption in our body polity, and we ask the good people of Ghana to support government’s Digital Inclusive Agenda that has played a major role in reducing human interface in key transactions,” the signed by Deputy Minister of Information, Pius Enam Hadzide added.

www.primenewsghana.com/ Credit: citifmonline