In commemoration of the African Union’s Anti‑Corruption Day, celebrated annually on July 11, the Ghana Anti‑Corruption Coalition (GACC) intensified its nationwide youth outreach, including tailored activities involving junior high school (JHS) students in the Upper East Region.
This year’s AU Anti-Corruption Day celebration is under the theme “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations”, GACC used the occasion to engage with youth who are seen as the anchor guardians of integrity across Ghana.
In the Upper East Region, selected schools in the Talensi District and Bolgatanga Municipal were sensitized on corruption and the Whistleblower’s Act.
The Upper East Regional Focal Person of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition, Emmanuel Anafo, charged the students to be bold enough to report any corrupt practices they witness.
Mr. Anafo called on the students to adopt the “3Rs”: Resist, Reject, and Report corruption in all its forms.
In these settings, pupils and students participated in interactive discussions featuring scenarios of corruption, bribery, fraud, extortion, and electoral misconduct.
They are also educated on Ghana’s anti‑corruption institutions—the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), Ghana Integrity Initiative, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), and how to report offenses safely and responsibly.
Mr. Anafo explained the rationale behind the selection of Junior High Schools for this year’s celebration in the Upper East Region.
“We had held it in different second-cycle institutions for the previous years, and this year we’ve decided to bring it down to the basic level.
In the presentation, we reminded the young people who are often said to be the future leaders, of the need to be aware of the whistleblower’s Art, which offers protection to the person who reports any case of corruption to the appropriate authorities. We think that this process should involve more young people, because they are the vibrant ones we have in society, and they are the ones who will soon occupy the political positions and many other positions that will steer this country going forward.
Some people may say these are just young ones; they may not even have the power to report, or even be afraid to report. We think that it takes courage to blow the whistle on corrupt practices in Ghana.
If the citizenry will have the courage, which is lacking today, then we need to start nurturing and building it even in young ones. We need to put that spirit in them as they are young and growing up. They will grow with it, and then they will propel Ghana to the position that we want it to be.” He told the Daily Guide.
Mr. Anafo continued to call on every Ghanaian to help fight corruption in Ghana by helping to report any case of corrupt practices to the appropriate authorities.
Mr. Anafo added: “… we think that corrupt practices always involve two people. Sometimes this is not done secretly. Some people are always aware of these things happening.
What we have always lacked in Ghana is the will of the people to report some of these things. So, we want the general society going forward to be active participants, to be people who are actively looking for corrupt practices and blowing the whistle on these acts, that will bring these wrongdoings into light.”
By Ebo Bruce-Quansah, Bolgatanga