The Presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Akufo-Addo has expressed his disappointment that Presidency is now seen as one of the most corrupt institutions, according to an Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) survey.
[contextly_sidebar id=”cTtACiplcCzNsyPSRX8GW35WnOy3GkO3″]The report by the IEA named the Presidency as the second most corrupt public institution in the country, a situation Nana Addo described as “unfortunate.”
Nana Akufo Addo in an interview with Citi News said that the findings of the IEA was not an appropriate image for such an important institution in the country.
“I think that is a most unfortunate finding. But then that should be the conclusion. I think it is extremely unfortunate for us as a people. We would expect the Presidency to be the institution that is, if you like, the most revered in our state and not the one which is damnified in this way. Clearly the President and those who are around him need to do something fairly dramatic to disperse this impression that is being given. For myself I think it is very sad that conclusion should be drawn.” he said.
The survey, which the IEA says was conducted in all the ten regions of Ghana also named the Police as the most corrupt institution in the country while tax officials and Members of Parliament lie third and fourth respectively on the list.
The government has rejected the report and has questioned the timing of its release as it was made public a day before the President’s State of the Nation address.
The Institute has since defended the report, insisting that appropriate survey methods were used to generate the outcome.
It has been backed by the largest opposition in the country, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) which believes that given the levels of corruption in the state institutions, the report was unsurprising.
Nana Addo also called on President Mahama to act “in the interest of the people” and work to clear this impression at the Presidency.
“It is a big responsibility on the President, in all our interests, his as well as the interests of the people of Ghana, and that is the supreme interest; the interest of the people of Ghana that something should be done to get away from this conclusion,” he opined.
The office of the president has, in recent times, come under intense criticism especially after its own report to Parliament revealed that it had overspent by about 100%, its budgetary allocation for 2014.
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EdKwakofi