Ghana cannot fight corruption with corruption

Opinions on Friday, November 27, 2020

Columnist: The brilliant Philip Donkor

2020-11-27

In recent times, there has been growing dissatisfaction among many Ghanaians about the problems related to corruption in the country.

Corruption is pervasive in all sectors of the economy, and people who have been found guilty have gone unpunished, making it possible for it to persist. We live in a country where everything is refracted through lenses of corruption except perhaps the air we breathe.

Corruption in Ghana is not a new phenomenon. Since the achievement of independence, governments have been accused of their participation in corrupt practices. Several investigations conducted but have not yielded dividends. As a result, people perceive it as normal.

I think there is a certain level of corruption in all people. Some are able to control it, others don’t really care. It’s not a Ghana thing; It is not an African canker either, but the blatant form it takes here with the governments subtly supporting it while rhetorically claiming to be fighting is what makes our case very egregious.

In western countries, the laws of the state work. Public institutions have that independence to work, so although there are cases of corruption, they are dealt with quickly.

In Ghana, the tree of corruption is still alive because, over the years, we have only pruned the branches. The more I hear about the fight against corruption-related issues on television, radio, or online, the more it convinces me that the war on corruption has largely failed because its commanders and foot soldiers have focused their arsenal on cutting the branches noisily. , not in the uprooting of the tree itself. If a tree lives, it will always grow back its cut branches.

Our politicians and other public officials are making corruption high on the national development agenda instead of responsible and responsible leadership. While a few politically and economically powerful elites profit disproportionately every day from the cancerous environment, millions of Ghanaians suffer agonizingly.

The truth is that corruption is not only at the top (politics). Beyond politics, Ghana’s culture breeds and embraces corruption. The bees of corruption scandals have stung the face of every nook and cranny of society. From the family to the cathedral; We value, practice, tolerate and reward cronyism, nepotism, bribery and corruption. Meritocracy rarely exists in our culture. So let’s not pretend the politicians are from Jupiter, Saturn, or Uranus. They are a reflection of our society.

Martin Amidu’s resignation from his post as Special Prosecutor on Monday, November 16, 2020, did not surprise me. It amply demonstrates how the country is backing down in its fight against corruption. The progress of our beloved nation has often been sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.

Certainly no one has won the fight against him, including the generals of our army, the commissioners of our police service, the judges of our courts, the spokesmen of our Parliament and the presidents of our country. The scourge thrives and is unhealthy. Can we nip corruption in the bud?

Corruption has penetrated every fiber of our nation’s esse. It has gone beyond mere leaders, since after all, the country does not just constitute leaders. People celebrate riches regardless of their origin; one could see a person struggling to make ends meet become a super rich man overnight and everyone is celebrating his wealth.

They don’t question it. In other places, such a person will be off the radar of law enforcement agencies, could be involved in drugs, or be used as a conduit for money laundering. But here, as soon as he gets filthy rich, he becomes the toast of politicians and bosses, even the academy hastily bestowing honors on them.

Ghanaians do not hate corruption. We are only envious of people who practice corruption. In Ghana, convenience is positively correlated with corruption. Most of us are willing to offer huge sums of money for “protocol”, but we come here screaming ‘corruption’, ‘corruption’, ‘corruption’. The change you want so much begins with you.

For some people, corruption is like drinking a rare variety of sweet wine whose taste still lingers in the mouth and makes the taste buds crave for more. Almost everyone is willing to pay for what shouldn’t attract a payment. The person at the time of service is willing to do what they are paid to do, unless and until you reach out to drop something or show proof of connections to power.

This has become the norm rather than the exception. Our inability to build a system based on merit will make us a perpetual cross and never heads. Stop offering bribes for favors; Everything constitutes a little corruption! That is the way to untangle ourselves from these shackles. The only pain is that we are not the ones who benefit.

In truth, it is a fanciful and fantastic thought about what our country would have been like if corruption were totally purged from the system without even a spark present. In fact, it would be inhaling and enjoying a breath of fresh, fragrant and smelling air, contrary to the stale environment in which we seem to be trapped.

Corruption is a major impediment to economic development. It takes resources out of the common pool and deprives a large population of having a fair share of the national pie. The fight against corruption does not seem to end because leaders and politicians who are supposedly anti-corruption crusaders have sacrificed the national interest for their own selfish and parochial achievements.

The development nightmare of this country is the unwillingness and inability of the various levels of leadership to lead by example. They are up to their necks in corrupt practices. And certainly any fish rots from the head. So for the fight against corruption it is a hoax until we find better ways to approach how money is financed at the highest levels of leadership.

The responsibility falls on every Ghanaian to win the fight against corruption, so that we do not perish as a nation. Let’s intoxicate the four-pronged approach: prevention, education, enforcement, and a change in our individual mindset. Corruption cases are increasing, but even so, Ghana will increase.

The author, Bright Philip Donkor, is Best African Article Writer for Economic Opportunity Training (AJEOT-2020) and the 2020 GIJ Eminence Awards Online Media Personality of the Year; Political and social commentator, columnist and prolific feature film.

Writer Email: [email protected]