OUR Members of Parliament (MPs), during their deliberations last Wednesday, raised a very pertinent issue regarding the strengthening of anti-corruption institutions in the country.
According to them, having a declaration regime bolstered by a legislative instrument was one effective way of checking corruption in public places.
The MP for Tamale South, Mr Iddrisu Haruna, set the stage for the debate when, in a statement to the House, he called for a review of the Assets Declaration Regime Public Office Holder (Declaration of Assets and Disqualification) Act 550.
The Honourable member hit the nail right on the head when he said the absence of a strong assets declaration regime encouraged a graft culture and made it difficult to take quick and corrective measures against corrupt practices by public officers.
The law, as it stands now under Article 286 of the 1992 Constitution, is well placed to tackle whatever issues that were raised by the MPs, except that it is nebulous. It has to set the parameters for its compliance, while its scope has to be widened, considering our social interconnections or affinities as a people.
Article 286 (1) (a) enjoins a person entrusted with public office to, before taking office, declare, through writing to the Auditor-General, all property or assets owned by or liabilities owed by him directly or indirectly.
The question, then, is, how many of those who are appointed to public offices comply with this constitutional provision? Clauses (b) and (c) of Article 286 (1) equally enjoin any such persons to do the declaration at the end of every four years and at the end of their term of office.
Entrenched as it is, the only way to amend the law, as it is now, is through a national referendum, which will be costly, and as the MPs rightly suggested, a legislative instrument would be required to make it workable and compel public office holders to subscribe to their oath of office.
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes that the structure of government institutions and of the political process is a very critical determinant of the level of corruption, and especially if the government does not control its agencies, very high corruption levels should be expected. The illegality of corruption and the fact that it is always shrouded in secrecy make it difficult to contain, which is why steps must be taken to attack it head on.
It must be noted that corruption is not only endemic in public offices but rife in the private sector as well and the fight against this social canker can only succeed if we recognise this fact and set in motion measures to tackle all such social obstacles to our growth and development.
Many people in public office see nothing wrong with accepting gifts, for example, which has been an underlying basis for corruption at both high and low levels.
Essentially, the assets declaration law can be seen to be working if it is complemented by a regime of tighter laws on taxation, procurement, bank transactions, among other measures.
The ball is now in the court of our legislators and they must show resolve to empower the police, the Serious Fraud Office, CHRAJ, the courts, as well as make the Whistleblowers Law operative so that people can begin to question the sources of people’s display of uninhibited affluence.
The passage of the Freedom of Information Bill will strengthen anti-corruption agencies to demand accountability from all public office holders who must justify their actions or decisions and suffer punishment in the case of misconduct.
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