A former Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party, Freddie Blay, has expressed disagreement with former Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan that Ghana has become poorer due to corruption.
He said although corruption needs to be curbed, Ghana cannot be said to be poorer because of the canker.
“That’s what Afari-Gyan has said. Corruption is a canker that we must all fight, but I disagree with him that we have become poorer. This country has not gone poorer. We are not rich, we are inching towards a middle income country among the comity of nations. So, in the first place he is wrong that this country has become poorer. We are not rich like the Singaporeans, we are not rich like the South Koreans or some other countries that you can mention, but we are definitely not poorer,” the Board Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) said in an interview with Keminni Amanor on Sunday, January 14 edition of Hot Issues.
It would be recalled that speaking at the Constitution Day Public Lecture organized by the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) Law School and the One Ghana Movement, the former EC Chairman said public institutions charged with the mandate to fight corruption are not doing enough.
“Over the years, we have become poorer as a nation and as a people, mainly due to pervasive corruption, particularly in the public sector. Unfortunately, some of our key public institutions are becoming institutions of dubious integrity. Increasingly, candidates who lose elections are alleging manipulations and refusing to accept the results.”
He therefore called for measures to curb the menace.
Mr Blay said, “I agree that poverty is not a good thing for every country. That is what I believe governance is all about, to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of the people, we can do better, I believe.”