LET ME TRUST YOU – GOVERNANCE AND SECURITY
Realign and streamline state and public agencies – to remove duplicatory functions and reduce government expenditure. Some of the agencies could be merged to make them sharper and vigorous. Nigerian undertook similar exercise in 2012 (Oronsaye report) and recommended scrapping or merging of half of its agencies. The current government is likely to implement the proposals. Some of the recommendations in the Oronsaye report are confusing so Ghana would need to be mindful not to merge or scrape agencies just for saving money but consider the purposes of the agencies and how they could be made more focused and responsive.
Public office conduct and scrutiny – strengthen accountability and oversight of public officials’ conduct. Contemptuous behaviours by public officers contributed to the disastrous performance of the NPP at the recent presidential and parliamentary elections. The Bryan Acheampong – SSNIT hotels saga and the wanton acquisition of state properties at rock bottom prices laid bare the big holes in the rules regulating conduct of public officers. Is the conduct of public officers’ bill even fit for purpose? Was it assented to by the past president, Nana Akufo Addo? Is Okudzeto Ablakwa’s protection of state assets private members’ bill fit for purpose or is there a need to amendments to give it a Dracula tooth? Parliament can have its own independent commissioner for standards and the presidency can also have an independent adviser on ministerial standards. But in line with streamlining agencies CHRAJ’s remit could be expanded to include oversight of conduct and standards for public office holders including parliamentarians and ministers.
The practice of having ministers and members of parliament on the boards of state agencies and enterprises must stop. How effective will they be able to fulfil their oversight and scrutiny functions when they are part of the decision making processes of these entities? We know corruption and conflict of interest is Ghana is not new. Prof K A Busia reported the prevalence of bribery and corruption in the Asante Confederacy Council (other traditional councils can’t be exempted) in his inquiries in 1942. He noted ‘when there was a constitutional dispute both parties gave bribes to chief, registrars, secretaries, linguists or spokespersons, and others connected to the council to enlist their support’ K.A Busia (1951): the position of the chief in the modern political system of Ashanti. This practice was not uncommon in European royal courts in ages past, but they did something about it to uphold the integrity of public office.
Operation Recover All Assets (ORAL) – whatever new bureaucracy it metamorphoses into it has to at least ensure that all stolen or state lands and properties sold at discounted prices are retrieved. This is the dominant view from my little survey of follow concerned busy bodies in the Dome Kwabenya enclave of Accra. They want the lands and properties taken back into state custody from the politicians and their cohorts who have turned into interplanetary criminals. On the generous side, they want those who have acquired state lands/properties to be made to pay market prices for such properties/lands at the time they were acquired or the properties/lands taken back into state custody upon failure to pay the market prices. Funds generated from the ‘market selling’ prices could be used to compensate original owners of the land, build affordable houses and other needed social amenities. An inventory of state properties and lands including those disposed off and the beneficiaries of the disposals is needed to make the work of ORAL effective otherwise it would be turned into the usual cacophonous cymbal favoured by politicians. This inventory, once put together, should be published and made accessible to the public.
Safety and security – the indiscipline in the system including increase in armed robbery, land guards, vigilantism, noise pollution including false alarms and blackmail through so called prophesies, and destruction of public must be urgently addressed. A disciplined and focused police and intelligence system is needed. A ‘broken windows’ mentality and approach by the police would be appropriate. This means that the police would have to cleanse itself of petty bribery and corruption including the tormenting of hard-pressed drivers for ‘subsistence’ money. The Galamsey epidemic, where some operators have created their own mini-infantries, combined with the terrorist activities in neighbouring countries should occupy the top in-tray of the security honchos. What is happening in once peaceful Ecuador (where drug gangs influenced the higher echelons of power including top judicial officers and the country’s vice president) and to a lesser extent Chile, should be a good learning tome for Ghana’s security managers. A safer Ghana would mean resident needn’t spend the little money they have on building high walls with security apparatus around their houses, hire gun/machete wielding land guards to protect their lands, or worry about blackmail from self proclaimed men of God who hawk their prophesies on the public square.
Criminal Cases Review Commission – the recent hullabaloo about the quickly withdrawn list of persons pardoned by the past president, Nana Akufo Addo, the unending stories about people wrongly languishing in prison and on remand, and the growing distrust in the judiciary and police show that Ghana would need an independent criminal cases review commission that investigates and responds to miscarriages of justice. Ghana can learn from UK, New Zealand, and Canada.