The Attorney General (A-G) and Minister of Justice, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, on Monday advocated mutual cooperation between criminal justice partners and the private sector worldwide, to curb economic crime.
He was speaking at the 40th Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime, organised at Jesus College, University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom.
As the key note speaker, Mr Dame told the gathering of lawyers, judges, politicians, academicians and attorney generals of various countries that the survival of the global community depended on the continuous trust reposed in state institutions mandated to prevent economic crime.
Mr Dame commended the organisers of the symposium for choosing “Integrity” as the theme for the 40th symposium, noting that integrity was central to development and prevention of crimes.
He said that when those who have been entrusted with authority to ensure that right procedures were followed derelict on same, the trust and confidence of the people were abused.
The A-G said there was the need to punish offenders of corruption and other forms of economic crimes, through a fair, honest and efficient justice system.
He noted that a robust legal system, underpinned by the rule of law, went hand in hand with economic prosperity as it bolstered the confidence of the people and deterred the perpetration of wrongdoing.
Mr Dame said that the efficiency of a nation’s justice system was tested particularly by the speed and efficiency with which cases seeking to hold high-profile members of society to account as well as top financial crimes, were conducted.
He said, “We must bear in mind that businesses exist to do business and to make profits which, ultimately, will be at the expense of the rights of others. The extent to which they succeed depends on the society, population, and “culture” in which they operate”.
Mr Dame said that “We must be acutely aware that the development and integrity of the global financial system are at risk from exploiters of weaknesses in the system to perpetrate financially motivated crime.”
He told the participants that Ghana achieved significant progress in reforms, enacting policies and laws such as E-Justice, Paperless Ports, National Identification Authority, Right to Information Act, Act 2019, passage of the Whistleblower Act, 2006 (Act 720), which introduced a reward system for whistleblowers and Digitised Land Title Registry.
Mr Dame said the overarching objective, was to enhance transparency, accountability and efficiency in the public space.
“A digitised environment ultimately helps to eliminate and prevent corruption in various institutions and agencies. Important institutions of state like the Passport Office, Ports and Harbours, Office of the Registrar of Companies, National Health Insurance Service and the Driver Vehicle and Licensing Authority, which hitherto were fertile grounds for corrupt activity, have been remarkably transformed.
“The introduction of the Ghana.Gov platform, making it possible for services to be accessed and payment made online by card without the conduit of middlemen, has significantly reduced the risk of public sector corruption through embezzlement.”
BY MALIK SULLEMANA