ISODEC believes state security agencies cannot be expected to do a good job in investigating corruption issues when appointments to top jobs in the agencies are politicized.
The campaign coordinator for ISODEC, Dr. Steve Manteaw said until the country separates its politics from state agencies especially its security, it cannot deal decisively with corrupt officials.
[contextly_sidebar id=”Ca3UY587kWCTwC5FqAllIpGhL0Q76q29″]Mr. Manteaw’s comment follows an investigation launched by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) into allegations of corruption leveled against two Deputy Chiefs of Staff, Francis Asenso-Boakye and Abu Jinapor.
The allegations were made by musician and NPP sympathizer, A-Plus in a Facebook post earlier this week.
A-Plus was invited by the CID alongside Assin Central Member of Parliament, Kennedy Agyapong, over the separate allegations of corruption against some government officials.
According to Dr. Manteaw, the situation where every change of government is accompanied by a change in the top level management of state institutions will not promote the fight against corruption as such investigations may not be done professionally.
“To the extent that we have actually politicized the institutions, we cannot expect the level of professionalism that should be required of any state security agency. Let’s be mindful of the fact that the heads of these institutions have been appointed by the current administration so there is always the likelihood that they will pander to the interest of this administration,” he said.
“We should end the useless politicization of our state institutions. I don’t think that the heads of state security agencies should necessarily be appointed by the political authority of the day. I will welcome a situation where they are appointed through a competitive process so they remain loyal regardless of which government is in power. Not just security agencies, but all state agencies so that they can do their work professionally,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dr. Manteaw has described as commendable, steps taken by President Akufo Addo in addressing the allegations of corruption leveled against the two deputy chiefs of staff.
According to him, the president’s directive to the Criminal Investigations Department to investigate the allegations gives an indication of his readiness to root out corruption even within his government.
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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana