Ghana needs specialised anti-corruption court - GACC

The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition has called for the establishment of a specialised anti-corruption court to strengthen the fight against corruption.

This was part of several recommendations from the GACC contained in its Corruption Report 2023, “Reflections on the State of Corruption in Ghana,” which was launched as part of activities to mark the 2023 International Day Against Corruption and made available to the Ghana News Agency.

The GACC is a coalition of 13 organisations, made up of seven civil society organisations, five state actors, and one private sector body, with the vision of a corruption-free Ghana.

It added that the state anti-graft agencies and the judicial arm of government must deepen their collaboration to ensure that perpetrators of corruption and corruption-related offences were adequately punished.

“There is a need to be more radical in our efforts to achieve results.

in the short term if Ghana is to deliver a big blow against corruption.”

It added that to achieve these, another important recommendation was for the passing of a Corrupt Practices Act and a Conduct of Public Officers Act.

GACC indicated that it agreed with the Office of Special Prosecutor (OSP) that “legislative measures are essential for the establishment of a stronger legal framework and more effective mechanisms to combat and penalise corruption and corruption-related offences.”

The GACC also called for a holistic approach to the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP II) to ensure the availability of the requisite buy-in and resources, both financial and non-financial, to ensure effective implementation.

It stated that regulatory reforms must be made to ensure that public officers found culpable of audit offences are prosecuted, especially in the wake of wanton disregard for the Auditor-General’s recommendations for administrative and audit reforms.

“State institutions must compulsorily create, strengthen, and work with internal audit units to perform oversight functions internally,” it added.

The recommendations also included institutionalising a value system that prompts a person whose conduct in public office comes into disrepute to resign or recuse themselves from further administration of the office they occupy.

On the issue of political party activities, they suggested that the government must take measures to forestall abuse of incumbency and electoral corruption during the 2024 general elections.

GACC further recommended that political parties should take responsibility for providing logistical support to delegates during internal elections.

Meanwhile, Beauty Emefa Narteh, the GACC Executive Secretary, expressed concern about Ghana’s consistent fall below 50 points on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) table despite the relentless advocacy of anti-corruption bodies.

Narteh noted during interaction with Ghana News Agency as part of GACC activities to mark this year’s International Day Against Corruption that anti-corruption stakeholders were concerned about the apparent stagnation of the fight against corruption in the country.

She noted that corruption had negative impacts on every aspect of society and was profoundly intertwined with conflict and instability, jeopardizing social and economic development and undermining democratic institutions and the rule of law.

The 2023 International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) highlighted the crucial link between anti-corruption and peace, security, and development.

She explained that GACC, in collaboration with its Local Accountability Networks (LANets) and with funding support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, commemorated 2023 International Day Against Corruption in some districts across the country.

She said until all stakeholders committed holistically to the fight against corruption, all efforts would amount to only scratching the surface of corruption instead of winning the fight against it.

Mrs. Narteh mentioned that prosecution had always been a major challenge in the country because there were several reports of corruption, but jailing offenders is rare, hence the call to set up Anti-Corruption Court.