Member of the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) legal team, Victor Kojogah Adawudu, has called for tougher deterrents against public officials found guilty of corruption.
According to him, if the families of officials found complicit are blacklisted from public service, it will deter people from misusing public funds.
Speaking on Metro TV on Wednesday, October 9, Mr. Adawudu argued that the lack of consequences for officials who misuse state resources has emboldened corruption within the public sector.
“They have seen that there’s no deterrent. Nobody is being punished. People finish, and when you ask they say ‘he’s on retirement’. Does it mean retirement they cannot prosecute him?” he questioned.
He suggested that the country adopts a different approach, where individuals accused of embezzlement or financial misconduct are not only prosecuted but also barred along with their families from holding public positions.
“If I’m at a position, I’ve embezzled and I’ve been brought through the public account and my name and family name is blacklisted; once they blacklist me, any of my offspring or family who want to enter the public service will not have an opportunity,” he stated.
Mr. Adawudu believes such measures would make officials more cautious about misusing state resources.
“If you do this, you think the people over there will be reckless? Knowing that their children, their generation may suffer entering into the public service. That’s how it should be, so if you’re there you know that if I take any reckless decision, it’s affecting my generation. I may be gone, but my generation will suffer it,” he said.
He went on to cite examples from other countries, stating that integrity in public service must be enforced through such stronger systems.
“I think in Singapore and Malaysia, the public service is the highest paid. People struggle to enter. And if you get some corrupt issue, you’re finished. Even your family, they’re finished. So before you get in there, there is integrity,” he noted.
Mr. Adawudu agreed with President John Dramani Mahama’s recent call for a fast-track process to prosecute those implicated in the Auditor-General’s report for misusing public funds.
“If we’re able to audit and check and set deterrents, people will not take public purse,” he said.
President Mahama, during a statement on Wednesday, October 8, expressed dissatisfaction with the slow pace of accountability following revelations in the Auditor-General’s report.
“It looks like we are marking time and not making progress. And therefore, I’ve asked the Attorney-General and the Chief Justice to convene a meeting tomorrow so that we can find a lasting solution to this. Because, clearly, we need a fast-track process, and people who have misused public funds must end up in Nsawam,” the President said.
The President made this statement at the 12th Annual Conference of Chairpersons of Governing Boards/Councils, Chief Directors and Chief Executives of the Public Services.
