Editorial: The President walking the talk

President Akufo-Addo’s order to the police to investigate some of his top appointees following corruption allegations leveled against them is a positive step for the young administration.

Empirically, it is not implausible to associate extreme poverty and perverse inequality to countries with high levels of corruption. Corruption is one of the most destructive impediments to economic and social development. It takes away resources from the common pool and deprives a large population of partaking in the share of the national cake. Despite Ghana’s good governance and democratic credentials, corruption still remains cancerous in our public service and society.

President Akufo-Addo per his actions is proving that there is hope for Ghana as far as the fight against corruption is concerned.

This is a leader who is not prepared to shield his appointees as was done in the past. At least, we all know that previously, all those appointees who were alleged to have stolen or misappropriated public funds were withdrawn from their positions and brought back to the seat of government. It is no wonder corruption became rampant in the recent past.

At least under the current dispensation, an appointee should by now know that there is a President who is not ready to shield anybody found to be corrupt. As the saying goes, the big brother is watching over their shoulders. Even with the slightest allegation, the President has caused the police to investigate his trusted aides.

Our humble appeal to those who are raising the allegations of corruption against the public officials is to assist the police and other investigative bodies to get to the bottom of the issues raised. They should be assured that the President is intolerant when it comes to issues of corruption and when they are raised he is ever ready to crack the whip without fear or favour.

The President’s resolve to fight illegal mining aka galamsey even if that will cause his defeat in the next election should tell all of us that he is a highly disciplined individual with a big heart for Ghana.

Do you remember President Akufo-Addo’s comment on corruption when he visited Sierra Leone? To remind readers, he said: I am imploring people not to come to me and say that ‘Oh! Nana, this man is my relative, so spare him. That is the problem in Ghana. You find people going to speak to your wife with the hope of trying to influence you. I am not going to listen to that, because my concern is Ghana and not one or two individuals.”

At the NPP’s national delegates’ conference in Cape Coast, Central Region over the weekend, President Akufo-Addo reiterated his commitment to stem rampant corruption in the country and warned his appointees that he was not going to shield anybody found to be corrupt.

“Let me reassure you of one thing. Any allegation about corruption against any official member of my government will be investigated by the law enforcement agencies. And those who made that allegation better be prepared to support it when they are making these allegations of corruption because nobody is going to get away with it,” the President said.

With open declaration by the president, the security services which must be seen to be working, also said he has “instructed the law enforcement agencies to investigate every allegation of corruption in my government”.

The request to the police to investigate his trusted aides shows that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is walking the talk and we must all help him to make Ghana corrupt-free.