Ghanaians urged to support fight against corruption
The Executive Secretary of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), Mrs Beauty Emefa Nartey, has urged Ghanaians to support fight against corruption, particularly regarding the construction sub- sector of the economy.
She noted that “the amount of money involved in construction projects is huge and there is, therefore, a high risk of corruption, to the extent that the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates that about 150 million dollars are lost through corruption in Africa alone.”
Mrs Nartey was speaking on’ Fighting corruption in Ghana (the construction sector)-the role of GACC and other stakeholders, at the launch of the first assurance report of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) Cost Infrastructure Transparency Initiative, on Friday.
It was on the theme ‘Promoting transparency and accountability in public infrastructure delivery in Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, Ghana: The role of stakeholders-STMA, CSOs, the private sector and community leaders’.
The initiative is a multi-stakeholder programme, aimed at improving transparency and value for money spent on publicly-funded infrastructure projects.
Mrs Nartey asked stakeholders to work together to sustain the fight against corruption.
He urged stakeholders to build partnership with construction experts and people in the industry, and asked government officials and civil society partners to allow access to information, which was key in fighting corruption.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive of Sekondi Takoradi, Anthony K.K.Sam, appealed to the citizenry to be patient while procurement went through due processes to execute projects, saying “it’s a process and we need to get value for money.”
CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, TAKORADI