The survey, which was to assess citizen’s understanding of corruption, their perceptions and actual experiences of corruption, show that Ghanaians still perceive the police, political parties and the judiciary as being corrupt.

It however revealed that Ghanaians do not regard the payment of what is commonly called facilitation fee as a form of corruption.

Nearly two thirds of the close to eighteen thousand respondents in the survey believes corruption is on the rise in Ghana.

The US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Jackson, said corruption levels in Ghana are at a point where US companies looking to do business in Ghana, have mostly been frustrated with requests for the payment of “facilitation fee” – which he simply described as another language for bribe.

Speaking with the media after launching the GII Consortium survey report, the US Ambassador said “We are looking at a government official that is demanding an action or a fee for doing the job that he or she is supposed to do. Secondly, we want to identify those institutions are actually taking bribes. Even now, people perceive that the Ghana Police Service for example is corrupt; in fact the DVLA, passport office, and the Ghana Revenue Authority are more corrupt in terms of actually taking bribe. My purpose in highlighting them is no to point fingers. My purpose in doing that is to make people aware, that individuals in those institutions have been profiting illegally, and we need to make people think before they pay fees for the services they are already paying for.”

The US Ambassador said Ghana has lost lots of business opportunities to acts of bribery and corruption.

“Corruption inhibits free enterprise and slows economic growth, and it is compromising the quality of much needed services that safeguards health, creates opportunity and save lives. I often hear stories of struggling families having to pay bribe for basic services. Regional monitors report that a typical agricultural exporter in Ghana faces more than forty check points between Accra and the border with Burkina Faso. Check points that add up to 100 dollars or more in what is called facilitation fees. What are facilitation fees? That’s a very diplomatic word. We are talking about bribes; absolute bribes,” he said.

“There have been specific complains about lack of transparency in tenders. We have seen several cases of that reported to us. I have met with company executives. However OI hear time and again that companies are asked to pay facilitation payments in order to get approval or get things done; and they finally just walk away; they say this is just too much trouble; we are going to another country to invest.”

Corruption is very worrying – Ambassador Jackson

Ambassador Jackson noted that, “Corruption is very worrying; it’s worrying in my country and every country. We have seen countries like Chile, Rwanda; make huge strides in combating corruption. We have seen countries like Botswana which have relatively limited corruption throughout their history. Now, part of that is cultural, and part of it is about what the culture allows. My worry and my purpose in highlighting this report, is that Ghanaians and Americans perceive that corruption is getting worse in both of our countries. It’s time to speak up, it’s time to take action, and I urge everyone who hears about this report or reads it, to take action, to speak out when they are asked for bribe; to stop paying facilitation payment and to make certain that their friends and neighbours don’t pay.”

He said there was the need for citizens to stop emboldening bribery by refusing to pay.

“I want people to stop and think, do I need to pay for this service or am I already paying for it? If I am already paying for it, why should I pay again? I cited an example of school teachers; it is one of the most repulsive forms of corruption to be demanding sexual favours for better grades or admission. It shouldn’t be happening; let’s stop it. Is this how we want our society to evolve? I don’t think it is.”

Ghana has overpaid millions for projects 

The US Ambassador confirmed the long-held perception that several government projects are bloated for purposes of corruption, causing the state to lose millions of dollars.

“I cannot, but I can tell you this, Ghanaians have overpaid for projects to the tunes of hundreds of millions of dollars, and we are talking about every kind of infrastructure that Ghanaians think about every day. There have been many examples of overpayment.”
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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A Minority member of the Committee, Mahama Ayariga alleged that the Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko attempted to bribe the Minority members to secure approval of his nomination.

[contextly_sidebar id=”5XJdR9Z6sGdXxyZWtEGXiI5koEsXEpOe”]Mr. Ayariga said Mr. Agyarko tried bribing 10 Minority members on the Committee with GHc 3,000 each.

The GII in a statement described the corruption allegations as an embarrassment to Parliament hence the need for probe to restore confidence in the Legislature.

“GII considers the current matter as unfortunate, embarrassing and a major dent in the image of Parliament and hence the urgent need for swift action by the Leadership of the August House to redeem the sinking image of the Legislature learning from the example of the infamous judicial corruption scandal and how the Chief Justice acted swiftly to investigate and sanction.”

“To this end, GII calls for an external, independent and transparent investigation into the allegations particularly in the light of Parliament’s initial position of dismissing the allegations.”

The GII feels these allegations would present Parliament with the opportunity to address similar corruption allegations; most recently by anti-corruption campaigner, Martin Amidu.

“GII is also of the view that though unfortunate, this is an opportunity for Parliament if possible to holistically address the general public’s perception of Parliamentary corruption and incessant allegations made by individuals including Hon. Martin Amidu, former Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Hon. Alban Bagbin, an MP, Hon. P.C Appiah Ofori, former MP and Professor Stephen Adei, Former rector of GIMPA.”

The Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, has since approved the setting up of a five-member in-house committee, to investigate the corruption allegations

Find below full statement

The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has followed with grief concerns the unfolding controversies and confusion related to allegations of attempted bribery of the Minority Caucus of the Appointments Committee of Parliament.

The allegations as made by Hon. Mahama Ayariga, Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central to the effect that, the then Minister Nominee for Energy attempted to bribe the Minority Caucus on the Appointments Committee with the sum of three thousand Ghana cedis each in order to secure consensus amongst members of the Committee to approve his nomination has even been made murkier by statements made by:

1. The Public Affairs Department of Parliament dismissing the allegation;
2. The first Deputy Speaker and the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Appointment Committee, Hon. Joseph Osei Owusu on the floor of Parliament that Hon. Mahama Ayariga has retracted and apologised;
3. Ayariga denial that he had retracted and apologised on radio
4. Muntaka, MP for Asawase denial of receipt of any money or giving any money to anybody as alleged by Hon. Ayariga.

GII is of the opinion that, it is incumbent on officials who hold public office and are paid with public funds to demonstrate the highest standards of integrity in the performance of their duties and therefore considers the developments in Parliament very worrying particularly also because similar allegations in the recent past were not thoroughly investigated, at least not that we know of.

It is however, refreshing to note that even though this is not the first time an MP is alleging attempted bribery of MPs, this is the first time MPs are publicly calling for investigations into the matter and committing to testifying during such investigations.

GII considers the current matter as unfortunate, embarrassing and a major dent in the image of Parliament and hence the urgent need for swift action by the Leadership of the August House to redeem the sinking image of the Legislature learning from the example of the infamous judicial corruption scandal and how the Chief Justice acted swiftly to investigate and sanction.

To this end, GII calls for an EXTERNAL INDEPENDENT and TRANSPARENT investigations into the allegations particularly in the light of Parliament’s initial position of dismissing the allegations.

GII is also of the view that though unfortunate, this is an opportunity for Parliament if possible to holistically address the general public’s perception of Parliamentary corruption and incessant allegations made by individuals including Hon. Martin Amidu, former Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Hon. Alban Bagbin, an MP, Hon. P.C Appiah Ofori, former MP and Professor Stephen Adei, Former rector of GIMPA.

SIGNED: Linda Ofori-Kwafo, Executive Director

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com

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According to the GII, it would have been prudent for the National Democratic Congress government to have allowed such new contracts to be handled by the new government.

The Minister for Environment, Science Technology and Innovation, Mahama Ayariga defended an 18 million Euro contract with SCL Waste Management Limited, to recycle e-waste in the country.

But in a Citi News interview, the Executive Director of the GII, Linda Ofori Kwafo said, government had no business signing the deal.

She believes issues of judgement debt and other challenges might eventually spring up if government goes ahead to sign the contract and fails to follow due process.

“…We should actually have laid down procedures detailing what an outgoing government should do and what they should not do and if it is about contracts , how far have they gone with the process and where they have to halt for the new administration to take over. If you engage in any contract on behalf of Ghanaians and it is found out that due processes are not followed then issues of judgement debt and all its related issues will come up.”

Ayariga defends judgement debt contract

The Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Mahama Ayariga early on defended government’s decision to sign a new waste management contract worth €18 million days after his party’s defeat in the December 7 polls.

According to the outgoing Minister, he took the decision because it was duly forwarded to the Public Procurement Authority for approval before the defeat.

“An application was pending before the election and I duly forwarded it to the PPA for approval before the elections,” he said.

The Minister is said to have signed a new contract with SCL Waste Management Limited to recycle e-waste in the country despite putting efforts in place to hand over power to the New Patriotic Party government.

This follows concerns raised by the NPP’s transition team about some supposed last minute contracts being awarded by the outgoing NDC government.

But Mr. Ayariga on his Facebook page explained that “the cost of project is entirely borne by the applicant and they said it will cost them €18 million.”

“Ghana must have e-waste recycling capacity to solve problems such what we have at Abglogoshi and other sites,” he added.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

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According to the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) which made the claim, Dr. Bawumia’s borehole he constructed for the Amedzofe College of Education (AMECO) was a “last minute” move “aimed at securing votes.”

Dr. Bawumia in June 2016, cut the sod for the construction of a mechanized borehole for AMECO in the Ho-West District of the Volta Region.

[contextly_sidebar id=”idbYs5gseWo0wQHWJesDjgdMWYbklYCS”]The NPP running mate is said to have initiated the project in fulfillment of a promise he made to the school in a bid to address the perennial water problem confronting the institution.

But GII in a report released on Friday dubbed: “Reducing abuse of incumbency and electoral corruption in Ghana’s election 2016” said the move clearly was to secure votes.

“The Coalition also observed an incident during this monitoring period, where the Vice Presidential Candidate of the NPP, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia commissioned the construction of a mechanized borehole for the Amedzofe College of Education (AMECO) in the Ho-West District of the Volta Region. This incident can be described as an act of “providing last minute infrastructure, construction, etc. and the provision of other services to communities aimed at securing votes,” the report added.

Mahama’s sharing of outboard motors abuse of incumbency

GII in the report also accused President John Mahama of abusing incumbency and indulging in electoral corruption, for distributing outboard motors to Fishermen during his campaign tour of the Western Region in August.

“On August 16, 2016, during President John Mahama’s publicly announced four-day campaign tour of the Western Region, outboard motors and pans were distributed to fishermen in Sekondi.   On 17th August, 2016, the Spokesperson of the NDC Campaign, Mrs. Joyce Bawa Mogtari indicated…that the distribution of outboard motors were part of an on-going government intervention. She stated that the items were purchased with state funds. The Coalition officially considers this particular incident as unfortunate and a demonstration of the incumbent government engaging in acts that constitute abuse of incumbency.”

Outboard motor distribution not abuse of incumbency

But Mahama’s adviser on corruption, Daniel Batidam, rejected GII’s claims.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, Mr. Batidam, who claimed he was not privy to the President’s move, said “the outboard motors that were distributed were actually included in government’s budget for the year.”

Click here for GII’s full report on vote buying

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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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[contextly_sidebar id=”sQhwx29fOneCMxspXpmMRqp5HfhkK7bI”]Some documents sighted in some media reports indicated that on July 22, 2016, the central bank sent a request to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to sole source the procurement of gold watches from a Swiss watch company.

The request letter indicated that the BoG intended to use part of its 2016 budgetary allocation to fund the procurement of 24 units of 18 carat ladies gold watches and 48 units of gents gold watches; all Tissot Gold Watches from a dealer at the price of US$504,000.

But speaking to Citi News, the Programmes Manager of GII, Madam Mary Ackah questioned whether it was necessary for BoG to sole source the contract when other options were available.

“In this case we should be asking whether we have just one supplier, manufacturing watches or are these watches very special that we needed the PPA to approve a sole source,” she said.

She believes an open tender would have been the best option.

BoG justifies US$504,000 for gold watches: ‘We won’t devalue loyalty’

The BoG, has come under intense criticism following its decision to spend such an amount on gold watches.

But the bank, in a rebuttal to these criticisms explained that expenditure formed part of its policy to reward deserving staff who have served a minimum of 30 years and are due for statutory retirement from the Bank.

The bank also explained that the procurement of the watches begun in 2012 when the Bank decided to procure the gold watches once every two years (i.e. 2012/13 etc.) in order to control cost and make savings on foreign exchange.

Noting that this policy of rewarding deserving staff has been with it since the 70s, the BoG said it will not devalue the dedication and commitment of loyal employees who have toiled for the company. S

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Wednesday, the Director of Communications at the BoG, Bernard Otabil, said, “if you served an institution for a certain number of years, that institution offers condition of service that would now allow you to enjoy some benefits of some sort after you have left that particular institution.”

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The two leading parties in the country; the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) have been making many promises on the campaign trail.

The flagbearer of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo has so far promised to set up one factory in each of the 216 districts, and also to construct an irrigation dam in each village up north, if elected into government.

On the part of the NDC, it flagbearer, President John Mahama has promised to give each pupil a tablet, and also to establish farming mechanization centers with 10 tractors in each district if re-elected.

But, Executive Director of GII, Linda Ofori-Kwarfo urged the parties to promise doable initiatives since Ghanaians have become very discerning.

“Ghanaian voters are not people you can take for granted, we are enlightened and we want you to convince us with your promises, visions and not all those big gargantuan promises that every Ghanaian knows that cannot be accomplished.”

She further admonished the political parties to focus their attention on the issues that matter to Ghanaian electorates and shun the promises which in most cases are unrealistic.

“They should stop the blame game; I can see the political parties blaming each other. I think they are now in the business of I’m promising more than you so we should stop those things and convince the citizenry to vote for them based on their vision, based on what is doable and stop the promises, we are tired,” she added.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonilne.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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