Politics

NCCE: Democracy under threat if…

The Jirapa Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has cautioned that democracy will be under threat if comprehensive action is not taken to empower the citizenry to deal with acts of corruption.

Despite laws and anti-graft institutions created to fight the menace, NCCE also warned that failure to create an enabling platform for the citizenry to understand issues of corruption and frown upon it as social evil can affect nation’s image badly.

Democracy will continue to suffer if corruption is not properly tackled through accountability, probity, transparency, participation, rule of law and does not create platform for the citizenry to understand issues about corruption, its effects and role of fighting it.

Norbert Ambaahikpiengu, Jirapa Municipal Director of NCCE, cautioned at durbar in the municipality organised by the commission in collaboration with the European Union (EU) to educate Konzokalla community on Whistle Blowers Act (Act 720 of 2006) which formed part of EU’s sponsored Accountability, Rule of Law and Anti-corruption Project aimed at tackling corruption and related concerns.

Mr Ambaahikpiengu wondered why the country had laws and anti-graft institutions mandated to tackle corruption, but the citizenry failed to apply them or join fight for good of society, encourage community members to report acts of corruption to Economic and Organised Crime Office, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice and Police among other established anti-corruption bodies, for redress.

Yakubu Sabutu, the Municipal Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, explained basic aspects of the Whistleblowers Act to participants, stressing that the introduction of the Act was one of ways to encourage reports on wrong behaviours, key to ending corruption and improving livelihoods.

He assured the citizenry not to “fear to report corruptible acts as identities will not be disclosed since there were some benefits that persons who made disclosures can receive but did not make mention of any specific benefit, and I urge community members to use act and other avenues to report issues of fraud, bribery, award of contracts to friends and families through unfair means”. -GNA

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