[ 2014-10-20 ]

President Mahama admits: Systems are weak in Ghana
President John Mahama has admitted at a meeting
with the UK media that Ghana's weak systems are to
blame for the rising spate of corruption in the
country.

He said on Sunday efforts by his government to
tackle the corruption scourge that has become
pervasive in almost every sector of the country,
are being impeded by "human discretion and
interference".

Using the Ghana Integrated Financial Management
Information System (GIFMIS) -- an accounting
system that checks public financial management --
as a case in point the President disclosed that
some public officials have been deliberately
working to derail its full implementation.

"There are accountants in places who just don't
want to hear about GIFMIS. However much you train
them, they behave like they still don't understand
the system. That is because GIFMIS will bring
transparency into public financial management", he
told press men in London.

In the last couple of months, corruption scandals
and alleged misappropriation of public funds have
hit key government institutions.

Recently, the Bureau of National Investigations
(BNI) uncovered 22,000 ghost names at the National
Service Scheme -- costing the nation over 7
million Ghana cedis.

This notwithstanding, there are allegations that
the palms of the BNI investigators have been
greased by top guns at the National Service
Secretariat to bury scalding revelations.

Investigations are also ongoing into allegations
the Commissioner of CHRAJ, Lauretta Lamptey,
misappropriated more than $148,500 of public funds
for her accommodation.

The GYEEDA rot and revelations of corruption at
the World Cup Commission of Enquiry into Ghana's
poor showing at the World Cup fiesta in Brazil are
also top of recent reports of corruption in the
country.

President Mahama, however, said these corruption
scandals have come about because supervision of
government agencies is weak.

According to him, his government has been working
towards using technology to limit the incidence of
weak supervision and enforcement of laws at
government agencies.

"The major opportunity to fight and win against
corruption is to eliminate the opportunity for
people to be corrupt. It's to prevent them from
being corrupt. So while we look for people [who
have been corrupt] and sanctioning them, we must
also look at ways of strengthening the system", he
said.

The President has been in London since Sunday to
hold a number of meetings at the House of Commons,
Chatham House, the Royal African Society and pay a
courtesy call on the Queen at the Buckingham
Palace.

On his arrival at the UK, he was met by Ghanaians
living and working there.

As part of the President's itinerary, he will
address the All Party Parliamentary Group at the
House of Commons on Ebola and Security in the West
African Sub-region in addition to hosting
investment sessions at the Chatham House and the
Royal African Society.

President Mahama will also be in Denmark where he
will hold meetings with the Danish Prime Minister,
Helle Thorning-Schmidt, and the Crown Prince of
Denmark, Prince Federick.

During the two-day official visit to Copenhagen,
the Danish capital, the President will deliver the
keynote address at the main plenary of the Global
Green Growth Forum.

Source -

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