Governance expert and public financial management specialist, Dr Eric Oduro Osae, has reiterated the urgent need to depoliticise Ghana’s anti-corruption institutions.
According to him, political interference continues to undermine their effectiveness in recovering public funds and ensuring accountability.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, Dr Oduro Osae emphasised that the leadership of such institutions must be independent and resolute in executing their mandates without fear or favour.
“If you are the head of an anti-corruption institution, you should be able to do these things. That is why we should take politics out of anti-corruption institutions,” he remarked.
He cautioned that once political influence infiltrates the leadership structures of anti-corruption bodies, their ability to operate objectively is significantly weakened.
“As soon as you allow politics to go into the headship and the leadership of anti-corruption institutions, you cripple them and they are not able to function,” he added.
Dr Oduro Osae praised former Auditor-General Mr Daniel Domelevo for his principled stance and fearless pursuit of accountability during his tenure, citing him as an example of the kind of leadership needed in Ghana’s anti-corruption fight.
“And I respect Mr Domelevo for that — he stood on his grounds and was able to chase. This Auditor-General can do same if he wants to, and he has started. I encourage him to do that so that Ghanaians can get the money back,” he stated.
He further bemoaned the country’s tendency to overlook internal recovery mechanisms in favour of external financial support, particularly referencing Ghana’s recourse to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“We should not be seeing these figures and then run to the IMF as if there are no systems. We should be able to recover that,” Dr Oduro Osae asserted.
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