Former Minister for Defence and Member of Parliament for the Afigya Sekyere West, Albert Kan-Dapaah says the absence of a legal retribution for corrupt public officers is what has encouraged corruption in the civil service.

At a symposium held in Accra, Mr. Kan-Dapaah said public officers engage in corrupt practices with the knowledge that there is no law to punish them when caught.

The symposium organized by Forum for Media Accountability and Democratic Governance (FoMADeG), under the theme “Redefining Our Ethos As Society” was to bring to the fore factors accounting for the downturn in Ghanaian social values and how to redirect national attention to building strong societal values.

According FoMADeG, the decline in our value as society has transcended the social threshold in becoming a major developmental issue which needs more urgent attention than mere focus on economic prosperity.

They added that not only has the beg-off in social values resulted in the bane to our development but any talk of the increasing corruption, use of abusive language and lack of respect for authority in our society is centered around this canker.

Albert Kan-Dapaah, who was of the guest speakers said the silence of the law on punishment to public officers engaged in malfeasance, has encouraged corruption in the country.

He accused executives for wielding so much power adding, adding that parliament and the auditor general are underperforming to bring them justice.

Former CHRAJ commissioner, Justice Emile Short shared a similar opinion and said the appointment of top public officials by the president should be reconsidered.