Youth urged to guard against abuse of power, corruption

 The  Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) has urged Gha­naians, particu­larly the youth, to guard against abuse of power and corruption and hold individuals and institutions accountable.

In a statement issued by the Ex­ecutive Secretary, GACC, Beauty Emefa Narteh, in Accra, yesterday, to commemorate Africa Union Anti-corruption Day, the coalition said citizens needed to commit to upholding electoral integrity and safeguarding democracy.

“We must demonstrate patri­otism by rejecting all forms of corrupt practices and opposing electoral violence. Let us take ac­tion and report all acts of electoral corruption to the appropriate authorities,” the statement said.

The African Union observes July 11 as the African Anti-Cor­ruption Day, marking the adoption of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC).

This year’s theme, ‘Effective Whistleblowers Protection Mech­anism: A Critical Tool in the Fight against Corruption,’ highlights the crucial role of whistleblowers.

The GACC statement said the fight against corruption could not stop because corruption contin­uous to impede development in many African countries, including Ghana with the impact visible through inadequate healthcare fa­cilities, deteriorating roads, lack of public housing, weakened institu­tions and undermining of citizens’ perceptions of fairness.

“Financially, corruption costs Africa about $300 billion annually. In Ghana, the impact of corrup­tion is seen in Ghana’s declining performances on international corruption indices; Ghana score 43/100, ranked 70th out of 180 countries; the alarming increase in petty corruption (17.4 million bribes paid in a year), deepening levels of grand corruption among public officials and institutions (Ghana lost more than GH¢15,05 billion in 2022, as shown in the Auditor-General’s report on Public Boards, Corporations and other Statutory Institutions),” it said.

The statement emphasised youth involvement in anti-corrup­tion efforts, building on last year’s engagement of 16,000 young Ghanaians.

For 2024, the statement said, the coalition plans activities in 33 districts across 14 regions, focus­ing on voter education for the upcoming election.

Supported by the Hewlett Foundation, it said the engage­ment aimed to educate first-time voters and students about electoral corruption, whistleblowing, and maintaining electoral integrity.

The GACC urged unity in pro­moting transparency and account­ability.

“Let us collectively reaffirm our pledge and renew our commit­ment to the principles of transpar­ency, accountability, and integrity. Together, we can build a corrup­tion-free society where public trust is upheld, and democratic principles remain steadfast,” the statement said.

BY TIMES REPORTER