The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) has sensitised the people in Gwollu in the Sissala West District on the role of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) in the fight against corruption.
The initiative formed part of the GACC’s efforts to educate the public and the stakeholders on the mandate of the OSP and how they could effectively support the fight against corruption.
It also aimed to promote dialogue and learning among the key actors, foster collaboration, build a shared understanding, and raise awareness about the OSP’s mandate while encouraging active public participation in combating corruption.
The GACC held the engagement with funding support from Deutsche Gesellchaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), through the European Union under the “Strengthening the Rule of Law and the Fight Against Corruption” project.
Mr Samuel Harrison-Cudjoe, the Programme Officer of GACC, speaking at the engagement, described corruption as the biggest canker destroying Ghana’s democracy and stated that collective efforts were needed to address the issue.
He emphasised that the fight against corruption in Ghana could not be left to a single institution and called for full citizens’ participation in speaking up publicly against issues relating to corruption.
Mr Harrison-Cudjoe highlighted various forms of corruption such as bribery, nepotism, embezzlement, favouritism, extortion, fraud, abuse of power, conflict of interest, and payment of facilitation fees.
He indicated that the government had introduced a series of legal institutions reforms such as Whistleblower Act, the Witness Protection Act and the OSP to help fight corruption in the country.
“This project is to enhance the effectiveness of key government agencies to help in the fight against corruption, while encouraging the active participation of civil society, including women, children and the media in accountability and policy making,” he explained.
Mr Mustapha Iddrisu, the Sissala West District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), underscored the importance of sensitisation in promoting transparency accountability and integrity in public sector.
He said, “Empowering communities with the right information was necessary in amplifying citizens voices, and promoting ethical leadership, and civic responsibility in the fight against corruption.”
The participants expressed gratitude to GACC and its partners for the initiative nothing that the engagement had enlightened them on OSP laws, and as well build their capacity to report suspected corrupt practices to the appropriate authorities without fear and intimidation.
The NCCE, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), local authorities, civil society, traditional and religious leaders among others, participated in the engagement.
The OSP was established by the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act,2017 (Act 959) as an independent anti-Corruption institution with the power to investigate, prevent and prosecute corruption and corruption-related offences involving public officials, politically exposed persons, and private individuals across the country.
GNA
