Disruptive technologies, Conduct of Public Officers Bill to end corruption in 2020—VP
Ghanaian Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has assured that the expected signing into law, the Conduct of Public Officers Bill coupled with advancing deployment of digital technologies will the fight against corruption in the country come 2020.
He said the administration is not only reviewing the administration of criminal justice system, but is committed to uniting state and non-state actors through the use of digital technologies to win the fight against corruption in the country.
According to him, the government would continue investing in the fight against corruption, take preventive measures, criminalise and enforce laws against corruption as well as recover proceeds of corruption.
Explaining more at the closing ceremony of the National Anti-Corruption and Transparency Week and commemoration of this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day, in Accra recently, the Vice President said “This government prides itself on its strong anti-corruption stance and will partner with both state and non-state organisations to fight corruption and build the nation on a strong foundation of ethics and integrity.”
Dr Bawumia added that “By next year, the Conduct of Public Officers Bill would be passed into law and this calls for the re-orientation of the mindset of the youth, in order to build a free and just society that could compete competitively on the global stage.”
Already, some of the programmes and interventions being implemented by Ghanaian government to make corruption unattractive to Ghanaians include the use of disruptive digital technologies in public sector institutions.
Others, said, include the Smart Driver’s Licence and Digital Vehicle Registration, National Identification System, Digital Property Addressing System, Paperless Ports System, e-Justice system, Mobile Money Interoperability System and Digital Land Registry.
Dr Bawumia noted further that the aforementioned programmes would enhance transparency and improve the efficiency of many government agencies in terms of service delivery and ultimately help to prevent and eliminate corruption.
More so, he said, government has increased budgetary allocations to all the accountability institutions of state, including CHRAJ, Parliament, the Judiciary, EOCO, the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice, the Ghana Police Service and the Office of the Special Prosecutor, to enable them to wage the war against corruption.
Responding, the Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ, Mr Richard Quayson said while Ghana has improved its position in the Corruption Perception Index from 40 to 41, there is the need to redouble national efforts to encourage shareholders to continue prioritising the implementation of NACAP activities until corruption is brought under control.
In his submission, he called for massive awareness against corruption to engender the interest of the private sector and MDAs, as well as all the various assemblies on anti-corruption issues and enforce existing laws and policies from 2020.
