Corruption is becoming widespread in Ghana because religious institutions and families are failing to instill integrity and moral values in their members, a National Executive Council (NEC) member of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) has said.
According to Right Reverend Dr Nana Anyani Boadum, the appetite Ghanaians had for religious activities did not reflect the country’s ranking on corruption indexes and perception surveys, hence the urgent need for all sects of religions and the family to step up their roles in reducing the cancer.
“The faith based community; both Christian and Islamic and the family must rise up. Ghana is slipping gradually. We must go back to the fundamentals and imbibe our religious values in our children and ensure adults too, live up to expectation. Our role in corruption fight is crucial” he said.
Rt. Rev. Boadum who is the General Overseer of the Jesus Generation Ministries was speaking on the theme “Raising moral giants in business for economic growth” at the end of year dinner and awards night of the West Africa Nobles Forum (WANF) in Accra on Friday.
WANF is a non-governmental organisation group of eminent and morally upright persons in the sub region, set up to among others, promote integrity and accountability in the sub-region and drive socio-economic integration.
The end of year event saw the induction of 17 new members who were awarded in addition, for upholding integrity in their respective fields of work.
For Rt. Rev Boadum, although businesses were set up for profit and satisfaction, they should be shaped by religious and ethical principles and strongly rooted in integrity to make it impossible for corruption to permeate its fold.
That way, he said businesses would flourish, become people centred, contribute to socio-economic growth and help address the increasing inequality and yawning poverty gaps created by corruption.
He said the corruption fight should not be tackled by only anti-graft institutions or targeted at politicians alone but should be seen as a collective responsibility of all Ghanaians.
“We must be bold and fight corruption together. Religious leaders must speak up. I know we cannot root it out completely at once but we must join forces and reduce it to the barest minimum.”
“In raising moral giants in business, the home should take the lead followed by the faith based community. We simply should not fail our generation and country,” he said.
A retired judge of the Appeals Court and Council Chairman of the Wisconsin University College, Mr Justice Isaac Duose who presided over the ceremony urged Ghanaians to leverage on networking instead of adopting corrupt practices.
He said networking in associations such as the forum, aided exchange of best business practices, connected people with ideas to those with the funding means and created the enabling atmosphere for business synergies and expansion.
“But in all this, you must not lose sight of your integrity” he said.
Dr Dee Otibu-Asare, the Executive Director of the forum, said since its inception in 2003, it had been championing integrity at all levels in the sub-region through public engagement.
Its membership of about 2,500 people, he said, were people who had exhibited high moral excellence in their fields of work and therefore urged new members to do same and also be agent of positive change.
BY JONATHAN DONKOR
