Jumping on a corruption index report to describe government as following in the heels of its predecessor is not only unfair but mischievous, especially, in the manner in which some biased groupings and even personalities have trumpeted it.
The objective is to deny the government any moral authority to describe the former government as corrupt even in the face of countless evidences. Without sound premises to hinge their conclusion upon, the corruption perception index appears to have answered their question – no matter how weak and untenable.
Like an unexpected manna from heaven, they went for it for want of something to hold on to in their desperate times making all manner of assumptions. Even Hassan Ayariga who claims to lead a political grouping says he is going to hold a press conference on the subject.
Mainly a perception of a selected number of respondents which is informed by various factors at the time of undertaking the survey, the outcome was unsurprising.
At the time of the survey, Ghanaians who had voted the NPP into power because of the palpable corruption which had enveloped the country expected an immediate action from government. This was a time when the details of the bus branding episode and others were on the lips of the people. Lips were wagging about corruption and loudly.
For a President, obsessed with upholding the rule of law, holding his horses and allowing due process to straddle everything was the best option.
We do not seek to disparage the Transparency International’ s (TI) efforts at ensuring a reduced level of corruption where the canker is endemic – their role critical in especially third world countries. The survey, given the time it was conducted and the obvious outcome, played into the hands of the managers of the country under who the rate of corruption had reached rooftop and causing consternation expectedly.
A survey undertaken at a time when a new government is just setting up and whose policies are not fully functional cannot be representative of the reality.
With a Special Prosecutor duly vetted and sworn into office and two persons already in prison for willfully causing financial loss to the state, what better time than now to undertake such a survey. The impression in some quarters that those at the helm now are peeved about the report is far from the truth. We are concerned about the misconception which has been triggered by the report and the manner NDC activists are hopping from one radio station to the other to spread their oral venom.
President Akufo-Addo should be the last person to ignore reports about the incidence of corruption if these are credible and reflecting the appropriate phenomenon.
The next report, by which time the Special Prosecutor and other anti-graft measures would have started attracting positive results in the corruption crusade, should be different by a wide margin if it is anything to go by.