The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), has called for the speedy passage of the Conduct of Public Officers Bill (CoPO Bill) into Law.
That, it said was to give practical effect to chapter 24 of the 1992 constitution which was described as the Code of Conduct for Public Officers and provided the broad framework for dealing with conflict of interest, illicit enrichment and other prohibited unethical conduct that has the capacity to erode public confidence in Public Office.
CHRAJ has therefore, urged parliament to demonstrate the necessary political will and pass the CoPO Bill to address the shortcomings in the current Assets Declaration Regime.
The commission made the call when it commemorated this year’s International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) in Accra yesterday.
IACD is observed globally on every 9th December to create awareness of the harmful effects of corruption and the need for concerted and sustained partnership among stakeholders to effectively and efficiently address it.
The day was marked on the United Nations theme “UNCAC@20: Uniting the World against Corruption.”
Mr Joseph Whittal, Commissioner, CHRAJ said the bill when passed into law would serve as a reference and a benchmark for ethical conduct in the country’s Public Service.
As such, he said the delay in passing the Bill was certainly not in the public interest as it stifled collective efforts at helping public officers avoid compromising and conflicting situations in public office.
Mr Withal said the theme was a clarion call for international cooperation to see the fight against corruption as a collective effort because, corruption had no borders.
The Deputy Attorney General, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah said what was also required was the enforcement of the existing policies, adding that for instance, not just persons who extorted monies from people into services should be prosecuted but those who paid such monies.
He urged the public to race alongside the office of the special prosecutor to curb the ongoing corruption in the country.
Mr Charles Abani, the United Nations Resident Co-ordinator, said the country’s peace was one of the crown jewels on the continent for which reason issues such as corruption should be dealt with effectively.
He therefore, added his voice to the callon stakeholders to join the fight against corruption and urged legislators to pass the bill into law.
The Executive Secretary, Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), Mrs Beauty Emefa Narteh said the country stood a better chance of detecting, punishing and or preventing corruption with a robust CoPO Law.
That, she said was because the country was confronted with corruption on a massive scale, hence, only an equally ‘massive’ legislation would give a fighting chance.
It would be recalled that the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia at a National Conference IACD in Accra in December 2019 assured that the government would collaborate with Parliament to pass the CoPO Bill into law the following year to rein in on corruption in public sector.
BY ABIGAIL ARTHUR AND CHARLOTTE BARNS
