A political analyst, Samuel Boateng has stated that leaders lack the political will to handle corruption and corrupt-related activities in the country hence the increasing rate of the canker.
Speaking in an interview on High Radio, he explained that Ghanaian leaders lack the political will to prosecute persons sighted in corruption even after the release of an auditor General report that reveals a series of corrupt-related activities, people sighted in the report as involved in corruption and its related activities are made to walk free in the country without making them face the full rigorous of the laws in the country.
He emphasized that the report of the auditor general categorically states how people, steal embezzle, misallocate, and misappropriate funds of the state but are made to go scot-free which he said is worrying to the development of the country.
He pleaded with the authorities of the country to act in accordance with the laws devoid of partisan politics in ensuring the reduction of corruption in the country by arresting and prosecuting officials who may be sighted in the report of the auditor general as corrupt to serve as a deterrent to others.
The Analyst bemoaned how people perceive corruption and its related activities as a norm which is as a result of poor handling of issues relating to corruption.
He opined that solely considering politicians as corrupt officials is a wrong perception indicating that corrupt-related activities are mostly practiced by technocrats within the various government ministries, departments, agencies, and assemblies because these technocrats may compel people to pay a sum of money before they deliver on their mandate in favour of the victim.
He stressed the administrations from 1992 up to date have failed to unravel issues relating to corruption which denotes how leaders lack the zeal to end corruption in the country.
Finally, he suggested that government gives the Auditor general the prosecutorial power to prosecute corrupt officials who may be sighted in his report which according to him will help reduce the menace in the country.
According to him, cases of corruption forwarded to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) by the Auditor General for further interrogation are not the best because the PAC since their interrogation has not done any profitable service to the nation in retrieving monies recklessly spent by people as a result of corruption hence giving the Auditor General the prosecutorial power will help the nation in ensuring that people are duly punished and are made to pay back to the country’s coffers any amount of monies that were recklessly spent by them.
