Africa-Press – Ghana. Professor Emeritus Stephen Adei, the Immediate Past Chair of the National Development Planning Commission, has urged government and public office holders to fight corruption with all aggressiveness. The mining sector for instance, he said, could save the nation huge sums of money by discouraging dishonest use of power.
“But someone will take one million dollars instead and close eyes to corruption, which could rather save the nation 100 million and billions. Corruption in Ghana has become a systemic problem and hindering the economy’s growth,” he said.
Prof. Adei said this when he addressed attendees at the 2022 Bible Week Symposium organised by The Bible Society of Ghana in Accra on the theme: “The Bible, Corruption and Integrity.”
He said: “Anyone in authority who says he wants evidence on corruption is blind. We can also save billions of dollars through investigation of the mining sector and area.”
“As a people, when I hear the young people talk, sometimes I’m afraid, because they believe there is nothing or no righteousness on this land even though I believe there are still people here with integrity”.
Prof. Adei said integrity required total consecration and consistency, adding: “Today, you are a judge and tomorrow, you are at a funeral doing something wrong with an excuse that it’s a culture.”
He said integrity was a major characteristic of nations that wanted to develop within a democratic context, saying its opposite was “hypocrisy”. The leadership of the nation, he said, had a primary responsibility to control the growing canker of corruption.
“Corruption thrives when the opportunity to be corrupt is high and being found is low and when the likelihood of being prosecuted and charged is low,” he noted.
Prof. Adei, also a former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, admonished authorities in government and public offices to fight corruption through modelling to enthuse their followers to imitate their honesty.
“That is why my secretary will not accept any envelope for me, because he knows when he brings it, he will be fired,” he said.
He charged the government and the public to challenge public officials to explain the source of their wealth and institute stringent measures to severely punish corruption lawbreakers.
“When people see this and notice the smell of corruption anywhere, they will be careful. If we want to fight corruption, we can. It requires integrity on all our parts. We must insist on integrity.”
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