The 18th
International Anti-Corruption Conference in Copenhagen, which ended Wednesday,
will strengthen the fight against corruption in Ghana, the strong team of
Ghanaians participating in the conference agree:
“Fortunately,
Ghana sent the right people here,” says one of the participants, journalist
Manasseh Asure Awuni, Joy FM: “The Ghanaian team included the auditor general,
the special prosecutor and the Deputy Finance Minister. They are key players in
the fight against corruption, and we from media and civil society, who are also
here, are going to push them and remind them about the commitments made here.”
Statements from other participants:
Special Prosecutor Martin A.B.K. Amidu: Corruption is
a crime and should be dealt with as such
“Corruption has no political colouration. It is
a crime against society and it must be dealt with as such. We, who head
anti-corruption institutions have to be non-partisan and treat crime as crime.
When the population will begin to see that, if you fall foul of the law, you’ll
be dealt with no matter which political party you belong to.”
Deputy Minister of Finance Kwaku Kwarteng: Ghana need
to engage more in the global fight
“One of the things we take home is the realization that we ought to
participate more in the global discussions on the fight against corruption, so
that the needs of our peculiar economies and circumstances are addressed. One
example of this is customs revenue, which makes up a huge 40 per cent of the
revenue basket of Ghana, but is a small part of the revenue in many developed
economies and therefore not included in international information exchange
arrangements. We need to push for that to be changed.”
Auditor General Daniel Yaw Domelevo: The fight against
corruption can be won
“We now
have to implement all that we have been discussing. The first thing to me is
discipline. People cannot run away with abuses of resources and just be left
alone. If we start disciplining this people and put good systems in place, I
think the corruption fight can be won.”
The ambassador of Denmark to Ghana, Tove Degnbol:
Concrete take home-ideas from Copenhagen
“The delegation from Ghana has obviously taken home a lot of
specific suggestions and I am sure that they are ready to apply them. Our
auditor general has met with the auditor general of Ghana and exchanged
experiences. The deputy minister of Finance has been engaged in dialogue about
the tax system and how to avoid under- and overprice invoicing, stop illicit
financial flows.”
Linda Ofori-Kwafo, Executive Director of Ghana
Integrity Initiative: Voters, wake up!
“We, the
citizens, have a role to play at elections and vote out the corrupt leaders.”
Emmanuel K. Dogbevi, Managing editor, Ghana Business
News: The corrupt will fight back
“It is
gratifying and encouraging to see such number of people from around the world
willing and able to stand up in the fight against corruption. And it is
necessary, because corrupt people are not sitting down and waiting to be
exposed and punished. They are fighting back really, really hard, so it is not
a walk in the park.”
Se the films from the Anti-Corruption Conference here:
Watch five short documentaries on corruption in Ghana here.
Read the Ambassador's blog on corruption here.