President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
Court clears and convict any person accused of wrongdoing, says Akufo-Addo
My government is committed to corruption fight
Relevant agencies probe acts of corruption, Akufo-Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated his duty is not to clear or convict persons accused of wrongdoing or engaged in acts of corruption.
According to him, the onus to convict lies in the hands of the court hence all allegations levelled against his appointees are referred to the relevant investigative agencies.
Speaking at a high-level national conference to commemorate International Anti-Corruption Day and Human Rights Day on December 10, 2021 in Accra, the president said Ghana has thus far taken some bold steps to tackle corruption, especially in the public sector.
“The government has undertaken, arguably, the boldest initiative since our nation attained independence nearly 65 years ago, to reform and strengthen the capacity of our institutions to tackle corruption in the public sector,” the president noted.
“Charity, they say, begins at home; and, that is why, so far, every single alleged act of corruption levelled against any of my appointees has been investigated by independent bodies such as the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and, in some cases, by Parliament itself,” he asserted.
He continued, “It is not my job to clear or convict any person accused of wrongdoing or of engaging in acts of corruption; that is the job of the courts. My job is to act on allegations of corruption by referring the issue or issues to the proper investigative agencies for the relevant inquiry and necessary action, including – if required – the suspension of the affected official pending the conclusion of the investigations.”
This, he emphasised, has been his administration’s approach since he [Akufo-Addo] assumed office 2017.
Touching on some actions his administration has taken to tackle corruption, President Akufo-Addo cited the dismissal of the former Public Procurement Authority boss, [Adjenim Boateng Adjei] in October 2020.
“As it was in 2019, I suspended the then-acting head of the Public Procurement Authority from office after conflict of interest and corruption allegations had been levelled against him.
“Following recommendations from CHRAJ based on their investigation, I removed him from office in October 2020 and the Office of the Special Prosecutor, is seized with the matter for prosecution,” he concluded.