Bechem: Mr. Samuel Harrison-Cudjoe, Programmes Officer for Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), has observed that the partisan nature of Ghana's governance system is a great impediment to the fight against corruption. He indicated that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) political syndrome was an affront to tackling, eradicating or reducing corruption to the barest minimum.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Harrison-Cudjoe stated, "When NDC is in power, NPP sees corruption everywhere, and vice versa. This creates equalization, and makes it difficult, if not impossible, to take decisive action against corrupt duty bearers." He made the assertion when he facilitated a two-day sensitization workshop for selected stakeholders in Bechem, Ahafo Region. The programme was a follow-up to the first phase of the Strengthening Accountability, Rule of law and Institutional Responsiveness (SARIS) project which started last year.
The SARIS project aims to build citizens' capacity to promote transparency, monitor public financial management, and fight corruption. It involves citizens engaging in community sensitization, monitoring the implementation of audit recommendations at Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, and educating peers about corruption reporting mechanisms. The project also seeks to train citizens in 24 districts across the country to enable them to identify and report corruption for appropriate action.
Mr. Collins Osei, Local Accountability Networks (LANets) Focal Person, noted that through the SARIS project, communities were becoming more vocal in questioning local leaders and more confident in using legal tools to demand transparency. He urged the citizenry to stay informed, report corrupt practices, and join hands in local governance.
Participants of the workshop were drawn from civil society organizations, persons with disabilities, women and youth groups, faith-based organizations, political parties, district assemblies, and the media. The GACC had organized similar programs in Tain, Berekum East, and Sunyani. The SARIS project is a collaborative effort by GACC, Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the local chapter of Transparency International, and is funded by the European Union (EU).
