A founder member of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, has stated that bribery and corruption are symptomatic of the entire Ghanaian society.
He has therefore stressed the need for a national crusade to change attitudes and behaviours so that a whole cultural shift could happen.
“We must change the constitution to decentralise real power away from the executive. The Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice positions must also be separated. An independent prosecutor’s office is needed to remove partisan political considerations,” he told the Daily Graphic in reaction to the scandal which has rocked the judiciary.
Dr. Nduom, who is currently outside the country, in a telephone interview, said now it was the judiciary who were being accused, but they were not the only culprits.
“This is symptomatic of the entire Ghanaian society. Once you are in Ghana and you do not take care, this disease will catch up with you. Bribery and corruption is everywhere in Ghana. Students are ready to pay for examination questions, people steal church offertory; health professionals take something to do their regular work; lawyers cheat, bank officials collude with customers to take loans to share and not pay back,” he said, adding that business officials took kickbacks to do their regular jobs at the ports and various workplaces. Voters have been conditioned by politicians to take money, pans, TV sets, etc. before they vote.
Dr Nduom also said even within political parties, candidates for offices paid delegates to vote for them and stressed that parliament was not excluded from this. Bribery of the Legislature by the Executive happens.
Dr Nduom also said the rot called ‘corruption’ must be fought by all and made a personal effort.
He stressed that all public office holders must have declared assets made public, and this should begin with the President, saying that had been his crusade throughout the Fourth Republic.
He described the scandal as a very good piece and called for consideration to be given to the monitoring state officials by state institutions such as the national security, BNI and the Police CID itself.
He said judges who “drive Tundra’s and the rest of it, changing cars at will while we know their salaries cannot afford them without any justification from any verifiable investments, must be monitored and annual inquisitions done.
Dr Nduom said state officials could not be left to commit crimes and then sent to prison because soon nobody would be left, and none would replace them. They needed protection in the form of prevention.
He described the scandal as a sign of the state’s monumental failure, adding that asset declaration and monitoring comes in handy.
In a related development, the PPP has repeated its call for the separation of the Attorney-General’s Department from the Ministry of Justice and the establishment of an independent prosecutor’s office.
It has also called for an independent prosecutor to go into the current allegations of corruption in the judiciary.
These were contained in a statement signed and issued by the National Secretary, Mr Kofi Asamoah-Siaw, in Accra on Friday.
The statement said now that the entire nation and the world at large had come to terms with the reality that the public sector was more corrupt than ever imagined, the PPP felt vindicated in its crusade for incorruptible leadership, including but not limited to the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.
It said the party’s vindication was in the wake of the scandal that had hit the Judiciary with some 34 superior and lower court judges caught on camera taking bribes or extorting money from people engaged in one litigation or another.
Beside the judges, over 100 officials of the Judicial Service have also been cited in the rot uncovered by award-winning investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
It said while the PPP acknowledged the swift response of the Judicial Council in suspending 22 Circuit Court Judges and magistrates until the determination of their cases and initiation of the process of determining whether there is a prima facie case against each of the 12 High Court Judges involved, the urgent need for reforms in the governance system to prevent such scandals must be appreciated and supported by all stakeholders.
“To that end, the PPP demands the immediate initiation of the process of separating the Attorney-General’s Department from the Ministry of Justice with the establishment of an Independent Public Prosecutor’s Office without prejudice to any ongoing investigation into the current allegations of corruption in the Judiciary,” the statement said.
It added that in view of the severity of the allegations that had rocked the Judiciary, which is the dispenser of justice, custodian of the rule of law and guarantor of the freedoms of citizens, the PPP had reason to believe that the scandal could have far-reaching implications for the sustenance of the nation’s democracy and calls on all to get ready to support the revival of the anti-corruption crusade to stop corruption and make incorruptible leadership a reality in Ghana.
It concluded that a schedule of series of actions to press home the party’s demand for reforms to make Ghana work would be announced soon.
