Africa-Press – Ghana. Mr. Michael Gyasi-Mensah, the Executive Director of Center for Peace and Progress Advocacy Ghana, a non-government organisation (NGO), has called on every Ghanaian, especially students to be observant and report acts of corruption to the relevant institutions.
The centre works to promote peace and social cohesion and commits to fighting corruption in the public space.
Mr. Gyasi-Mensah said examination malpractices and bribery were all forms of corruption and urged the students to report such conducts to either the police, the office of the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), traditional authorities or their teachers.
He said: “If the corruption menace in the country is tackled there will be no need for the nation to seek financial assistance from international sources like the international Monetary Fund”.
Mr. Gyasi-Mensah regretted that the nation loses approximately $3 billion annually due to corruption, adding that conducted by the CHRAJ indicated that about 20 percent of the nation’s annual budget was wasted due to the menace.
He made the call at a sensitisation forum for some selected students in the Sunyani and Sunyani West Municipalities to commemorate this year’s African Union Anti-Corruption Day (AUACD) in Sunyani.
The Global Media Foundation (GloMeF), a media advocacy and anti-corruption NGO with support from the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) organised the forum.
It sensitised the students, using the local “Twi” dialects to define bribery and corruption for them to properly understand, identify and help tackle the menace.
Observed annually on July 11, the AUACD underscores the continent’s dedication to combating corruption, as established by the 2003 AU Convention and as important reminder to raise awareness, evaluate progress, and reinforce anti-corruption initiatives.
The theme for the year-long celebration is “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparation.”
The celebration encourages member states to strengthen their efforts in preventing and combating corruption, which is seen as a major obstacle to development and a violation of human rights.
Mr. Gyasi-Mensah highlighted the detrimental impact of corruption on national development saying corruption was manifested and made “visible in the poor state of infrastructure, inadequate educational resources and overall poor living conditions” at the national space.
He said: “The highly educated individuals often face the greatest pressure to engage in corrupt practices, including bribery” and urged the youth to encourage their families to “adopt sound moral principles and to avoid corruption of all forms.”
Mr. Gyasi-Mensah told the students that corruption hindered their growth and progress, saying that “corruption remains the bane of our socio-economic progress and development.”
He said the GACC aimed at aligning with the theme by empowering young people to speak out against corruption and highlighted the future impacts of the menace by encouraging whistleblowing as a safe method for the youth to advocate accountability and thereby contribute to a fairer society.
Mr. Gyasi-Mensah challenged the youth to be bold and “speak against corruption and uphold democracy,” reiterating the need for them to remain vigilant and proactively report corrupt practices.
He urged students to commit to their studies by “following the 5Ps of principled, proper preparation, prevents, poor, performance” urging them to eschew examination malpractices and rejecting all forms of corruption.
Ms. Precious Mariam Hamidu, Personnel of GloMeF advised the students to commit to their education as a pathway of becoming effective, impactful and trustworthy leaders and public officials.
She said: “As students you be good ambassadors in the anti-corruption movement, advocating against corruption, examination malpractice and bribery.”
The students were presented with quantities of GACC branded pens, corruption and anti-corruption flyers, posters and stickers.
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