The deeds of the President of the Republic, William Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, do not depict any commitment towards fighting corruption as he promised Ghanaians, Nana Ohene Ntow, senior advisor to Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, founder of the Movement for Change, has noted.
To relay any impression of commitment towards the canker, Ohene Ntow says “the President has to find a way of sending a signal that he is really ready to fight corruption.”
His comments come on the back of the President’s statement on the Cecilia Dapaah cash saga which he says potentially compromised investigations into the issue from the get go.
After her resignation as Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources following her missing cash scandal, President Akufo-Addo in the resignation acceptance letter disclosed that he was confident she was going to be exonerated.
“I am confident, like you, that, at the end of the day, your integrity, whilst in office, will be fully established. I wish you the very best in all your endeavours,” the President said in his letter.
The Attorney-General has also advised the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) against conducting investigation into the money laundering aspect of the scandal.
The matter was referred to the EOCO by the Office of the Special Prosecutor who said its mandate was limited with regards to investigating money laundering.
Although the Attorney General’s Office has noted that it has not closed investigations on the matter since the police are still probing it, Nana Ohene Ntow says the President’s statement put “the fear of God” in people, making the investigative bodies handling the matter to dance around it.
“Because if you do this kind of thing, you put “the fear of God” in people, the people who are supposed to take up the law and fight for the good of the nation, to fight corruption. As soon as you do some of these things, you put them in a very weak position.
“And that, for me, doesn’t convince anybody that President Akufo-Addo is serious about fighting corruption. Now, when an individual issue arises, it gives you a sense of what the totality of the environment looks like,” he told Alfred Ocansey on the KeyPoints on TV3 Saturday, May 04, 2024.
He continued that the President’s promise to Ghanaians to protect the public purse was a mere rhetoric considering his attitude towards the canker since assuming office.
“This is what the President says. Is it any wonder that, truly speaking, President Akufo-Addo, who had promised that he was going to protect the public purse and that not under his watch was corruption going to be there, hasn’t really done much. And the evidence is there for everybody to see,” he expressed.
He advised the Attorney-General to take a second look at the advise he gave to the EOCO.
The President is not interested in dealing with corruption – Anti-graft Campaigner
