Can fight against corruption be won?

Fighting corruption has become a difficult and costly venture across the globe, hence only an insignificant number of members of the public would ever imagine that fight can be won.

This is because institutions like the courts, the police and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) established to fight corruption and related crimes are themselves seen as being corrupt.

However, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) asserts that the fight against corruption in the country is achievable because whistleblowing about corruption has increased.

It explains that the increase in whistleblowing reports was building a culture of integrity for future generations to reduce to the barest minimum corruption-related practices.

CHRAJ says the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP) for the past seven years, creation of awareness of evils of corruption and adoption of mechanisms for reporting corrupt offences, which include whistleblowing, have caused most public institutions to have or are in the process of establishing safe corruption-reporting systems at the workplace.

The Ghanaian Times wholeheartedly supports every move by the country to fight corruption because it benefits a limited number of people, the perpetrators and those close to them such as family members and friends, while it deprives the larger society of the benefits of the resources, both cash and materials that have been stolen from the state.

Remember, corruption refers to the situation where those in charge of the management of state resources use fraudulent and dishonest ways to steal cash and loot state assets; and making access to public services and enjoyment of rights so difficult that members of the public would have to pay bribes to enjoy such services or rights.

It is an open secret, for example, that patients or their families have to pay some people at the hospital to see doctors or secure them beds on which to lie to receive treatment.

The whole country, particularly the citizenry, must wake up and join forces to fight corruption in any form or shape because while it worsens the poverty levels of individual victims, it does a lot of harm to the country.

For instance, apart from denying the country the resources for development, it increases public debt.

An August 19, 2019 publication on Google says Ghana annually loses Ghana $3billion to graft and corruption, a menace that keeps people poor and disadvantaged.

Meanwhile, Ghana went to the international capital markets for a US$3 billion Eurobond issuance in March 2021 to add to its indebtedness.

It is clear that corruption undermines the progress of the society but the question is, is it really the case that corruption is reducing in the Ghanaian society?

In which areas or sectors of societies is graft and corruption reducing.

The Ghanaian Times believes that the whistleblowing the CHRAJ alludes to is not enough.

In spite of all the measures put in place to fight corruption, there are people who must be questioned about their sources of riches or wealth, including officials and even some shop-floor workers of public organisations.

Also, the Judicial Service  must educate the public on court processes, especially with regard to corruption cases because most of the time, corruption cases involving high-profile people drag for too long and the public loses interest in them, which does not help whistle-blowing efforts.

Society too must abandon the inordinate hailing of riches and wealth and rather begin to question their sources.