[ 2016-11-10 ]

Apply sanctions to fight graft: Kan-Dapaah
A former Chairman of the Public Accounts
Committee, Albert Kan-Dapaah, has recommended
sanctions as the only way to minimise corruption
in the country.

Speaking at a symposium organised by the Forum for
Media Accountability and Democratic Governance, Mr
Kan-Dapaah expressed worry at the lack of punitive
measures meted out to culpable officials who
misappropriate state funds.

“The knowledge among public servants that no
sanctions will be applied even if they were caught
[means] monies can easily be stolen in the public
sector primarily because of the ineffectiveness of
our accountability institutions and mechanisms
coupled with our fear to apply sanctions against
those who steal,” he stated.

“Why do we have a government? The primary duty
of government is to provide public goods and
services to citizens with public funds provided by
citizens. To do this, they need money, monies that
they themselves don’t have. So come to think of
it, the government is about the poorest
institution you can have. They don’t make any
money, they depend on us the citizens for all the
monies they use to provide the public goods and
services. This, therefore, creates an
accountability relationship between the citizens
who provide the public resources and the
government that is using those resources to
provide us with the public services,” the former
legislator added.

There have been calls on public institutions to
tighten their grip on corrupt officials by
applying sanctions to curb the trend.

Earlier this year, Mr Kan-Dapaah said sanction
regimes in the new Public Financial Management Law
are not stringent enough to deter people from
robbing the state.

The law, when assented to by the president, will
regulate the financial management of the public
sector to address weaknesses and promote
discipline, transparency, and accountability of
public funds.

But speaking at a national forum on open
governance organised by the Ghana Integrity
Initiative, Mr Kan-Dapaah said the new law was no
different from existing laws in the country.

“There is no clear automatic correction
mechanism to control deviations. In countries that
have the law, there is always an automatic
correction mechanism… The sanctions regime is
not deterrent enough, it gives custodial sentence
of not less than two years and not more than five
years, so if I steal $20 million to go in for only
two or five years, I will come back early enough
to come and spend the money, so I don’t think
it’s frightening enough,” he stated.

“Again, there is no independent fiscal policy
council. In Nigeria, for instance, we have an
independent fiscal policy council with powers to
challenge the government and we have it in Brazil.
Over all, I can only say without passing judgment
that so far as transparency and accountability are
concerned, I think the new law is no better than
the existing practices we have today.”

Source - Classfmonline

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