It is not my job to convict wrongdoers – Akufo Addo on corruption fight

President Akufo-Addo has fought off criticism that he is not doing enough in the fight against corruption.

According to the President, he has referred all cases of alleged corrupt acts of some members of his government to the relevant state institutions mandated with the powers to investigate and recommend sanctions.

The President at the Ghana Bar Association conference in Takoradi on Monday said it would be out of place for him, the President, to clear or convict persons alleged to have perpetrated wrongdoing in the discharge of their duties as government appointees.

“It is not my job to clear or convict any person accused of wrongdoing or of engaging in acts of corruption. My job is to act on allegations of corruption by referring the issue or issue to the proper investigative agencies for the relevant enquiry and necessary action. That is exactly what has been done since I assumed the mantle of leadership on 7th January 2017,” he said.

Explaining how his government in the past two and half years has fought corruption, the  President said, “So far, every single alleged act of corruption leveled against any of my appointees is being or has been investigated by independent bodies, such as CHRAJ, the CID, and, in some cases, by Parliament itself. From the allegations against the then Minister-Designate for Energy at his parliamentary confirmation hearings; to that against the former CEO of BOST; to those against the two deputy Chiefs of Staff; to the conflict of interest allegations against the Minister for Finance; to the claims of extortion against the Trade and Industry Minister; to allegations of doubling in visa racketeering against the then deputy Minister for Youth and Sports, the then Director General of the National Sports Authority, who, even though exonerated by the CID, later resigned, and the Chairperson of the Board of the National Sports Authority; to the allegations of bribery leveled against the Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining; to the latest involving the suspended acting CEO of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) and the dismissed CEO of the National Youth Authority – they have all been investigated or are being investigated by the authorized institutions of our state, and not by President Akufo-Addo.”

Stressing the need to build strong independent institutions by making them work, Nana Akufo-Addo said, he cannot condemn people just on the basis of mere corruption allegations as his opponent may want it.

“It cannot be the case that the people are condemned on the basis of mere allegations. That is the law of the jungle.” He noted

According to him, the National Democratic Congress is doing all it can to tag his government and him as the most corrupt in the history of the country post-independence despite all efforts by his administration to tackle the menace.

“I am aware of the orchestrated attempts by my opponents to hang the tag of corruption on the neck of my government and myself, despite all the manifest efforts being made to deal with the phenomenon of corruption. I just have one simple answer for them. It will not work. I did not come to the public life to enrich myself,” he said.