Mr Michael Okai, the Programmes Coordinator of Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) has called on leaders of Christian and Muslim religious bodies to use the Bible and the Quran to educate their following to avoid corrupt practices.

He said the two religions formed the greater percentage of the Ghanaian population and therefore it was time their leaders used the Bible and the Quran to speak up against corruption for their members would resist the act.

Mr Okai made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency when the GII, the local Chapter of Transparency International in collaboration with Network for Health and Belief Foundation and the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai Municipal Assembly organised a day’s sensitisation workshop on corruption for faith-based organisations and other stakeholders at Bibiani in the Western North Region.

He said the programme was in line with the GII’s Inter-Faith Project aimed at creating public awareness on corruption and its effect on nation building as enshrined in the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP).

He said the GII was carrying out the programme in 50 selected districts in five region of the country, namely; Greater Accra, Volta, Ashanti, Western and Northern Regions with support from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA).

He asked the citizenry to shun apathy and rather take bold steps to right the wrongs in the society, saying corruption thrived greatly on apathy, which had destroyed the moral fibre of the people.

Mr Samuel Oracca-Tetteh, the Executive Director of Network for Health and Relief Foundation, addressing the participants said corruption was not limited to politicians alone, but cut across all sectors of the Ghanaian society including faith-based organisations.

“There is the need for all hands to be on the deck to check and fight this social canker,” he said.

Participants were of the view that state institutions like the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) should be well resourced by the government to achieve success in the NACAP.