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| Programs Manager -GII Mrs. Mary Awelana Addah |
By: Akpabli Daniel Yao/IGNews/VR/Ho
To make Ghana a
corruption free state, the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), a Local Chapter of
Transparency International, has organized a one-day young women’s forum in the
Volta Regional capital, Ho to educate and empower young women with the
requisite knowledge to help in the fight against the act of corruption.
The forum which was
targeted at young women in the various tertiary institution in the region was
with the theme “Empowering young Women to sustain the fight against corruption
in Ghana”.
According to the Programs
Manager of GII Mrs. Mary Awelana Addah, trends in the transparency
international research reveal that, women are less likely to engage into
corruption but the increasing number of about 51.3 percent of women recorded in
the Ghana’s 2010 total population census
point out to the need to target women in the anti-corruption drive.
“it is crucial to engage
women when it comes to the fight because women are directly affected when it comes
to corruption. When the man is sacked for the act, the family’s burden lies on
the shoulders of the woman. In some cases, too, they are the victims” She said.
She observed that,
corruption is endemic in Africa hence the fight against the phenomenon in Ghana
should be a collective responsibility on the part of every citizen.
She said, the GII is
organizing many forums across the country in the quest to sensitize the citizenry
and also engaging youth movements in the fight as well as the Mainstream media
and Social media to help carry the message across.
The Acting Volta Regional
Director of Commission on Human Right and Administrative Justice, Mr. Daniel
Mensah who took the participants through the Anti-Corruption Laws in Ghana,
focused on the whistle Blower’s Act 2006, (Act720)reiterated on the need to
know the procedures involved and the remedies available to an individual who
want to blow a whistle.
He cautioned, the Whistle
blower to be sure of what he/she is coming to blow as the truth and that, he/he
had not told any other persons for his/her identity can be protected for
security reasons.
He noted that, nepotism,
favoritism, Extortion, facilitation payment, embezzlement and many others are
form through which corruption is manifested and call on all to desist from such
acts.
He further applauded the
GII for the initiative and pledge his support in collaborating with them in
subsequent forum as he noted that, education is one of the core mandates of
the CHRAJ.
The Volta Regional Officer
of The Advocacy and Legal Advice Center (ALAC)-GII, Mr. Agbagba Bright noted
that, the center, ALAC, was set up by the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the
local Chapter of Transparency international (TI) to assist the citizen
especially the most vulnerable.
He said, ALAC is free,
confidential and professional service that offers victim and witness of
corruption an avenue to report and pursue incidence of corruption for redress.
He reiterated that, the aim
of ALAC is to empower citizens to make and pursue corruption related
complaints, provide legal advice and assistance to victims and witness of
corruption, set up database on complaints received from the public and use data
on complaints to advocate for greater structural and institutional changes.
He further directed all
participants and any other persons to come directly to their office for report
and pursuit of cases of corruption or call their toll-free lines (0800 100
250-MTN & Airtel and 0800 100 25-Vodafone) anytime they fall victims of
corruption as he assured all for their safety.
Some participants who
spoke to the media express gratitude to Ghana Integrity Initiative, ALAC and
Commission on Human Right and Administrative Justice for organizing such an
educative forum.
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| An interactive section of the participants |
Some mentioned that,
timidity, shyness, fear of been chastised and many other factors make most of
their fellow young women unable to report and pursue corruption cases
meanwhile, these issues have a long way of affecting them negatively.
They noted that, the
forum has equipped them with the more knowledge on the issues of corruptions,
the institutions available to help and procedure to follow in seeking redress
should they fall victim both in school and in the society in general.
They further lamented
that “Measures should be quick enough to help victims of corrupt practices
because the delay in the pursuit of such cases are making it difficult to come
out with information in regards to corruption”
BACKGROUND
Ghana Integrity Initiative
(GII) the Local Chapter of Transparency International (TI) was launched in
December 1999 as a non-partisan, non-profit civil empowerment organization.
It focuses on the
delivery of essential themes necessary for the creation of a national integrity
system.
The GII undertake three
major research work annually on corruption as it contributed to the knowledge
and basis for its advocacy work.
The GII’s work is largely
based on advocacy for change in policy and practice, sensitizing political and
other concerned parties and entering into dialogue on corruption to advocate
for legislative and institutional reforms intended to better the lots of
Ghanaians as well as cultivating anti-corruption behavior in everyday life
through constant engagement with citizens on radio and television to create the
ideal society of people who shun corruption
It also provides public
education and capacity building by establishing Social Auditing Club (SACs) as
part of efforts to ensure grassroot participation, efficient use of public
resources and accountability in local governance through community monitoring
projects.
ALSO PUBLISHED IN THE FINDER NEWSPAPER
ALSO PUBLISHED IN THE FINDER NEWSPAPER
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