A former governor of the Bank of Ghana has said that corruption has a foul smell and it is the reason why political leaders are unwilling to implement policies that could transform their economies.
He expressed these sentiments at the Annual Legon Alumni lecture held at the Legon Great Hall at Accra. The lecture which he delivered focused on “Corruption, Culture and National development- An interrogation of Africa’s Experience”.
“Corruption has a foul smell and the public can sense it when it is there”, he said. Dr. Paul Acquah cited key areas in which corruption manifests itself to include; public procurement, fraudulent release of resources to ghost workers and institutions, the police or soldiers setting up road tolls in the middle of nowhere or the judge repeatedly postponing court hearings to tilt the hand of justice.
Some authorities and political leaders according, to him, set aside the public’s interest, refusing to act on a critical policy commitment because it is without personal gain.
These attitudes according to him, destroy the fabric of society, leading to poor economic development. He added that, the institutionalisation of corruption is Africa’s major drawback.
He, therefore, called on stakeholders to help drive away the foul stench of corruption by heeding the commandments ” thou shall not take corrupt decisions, thou shall uphold honesty and integrity and thou shall remain faithful to the oath of office”.
The Chairman of the UG Alumni, Paa Kwesi Yankey also touched on sexual harassment of females in exchange for favours as they rise through their academic courses to the corporate world as a form of corruption. He is therefore appealing to the custodians of our values to decry such unhealthy practices and to dignify their female counterparts.
