Mr. James Awuni, Yilo Krobo Municipal Director Of the Commission On Human Rights And Administrative Justice, CHRAJ has called for the engagement of all stakeholders in Anti-Corruption governance to enable them to cultivate the principles of transparency and accountability.

He said, all hopes are pinned on the individuals and their commitment to fight the scourge and by so doing will help them to make decisions that will ensure a corruption-free environment.

Mr. Awuni made the call when he addressed a stakeholders’ forum on corruption for drivers and police personnel organized by the Yilo Krobo Anti-Corruption Advocacy Committee, YKAAC, in the Yilo Krobo Municipal of the eastern region in collaboration with the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), the Somanya Police Commander, ASP Isaac Kodwo Otsin, CHRAJ, the Chief Imam and the Local Council Of Churches.

He stated that the activities of the committee is geared towards “ensuring that people get educated on the issues of corruption,” adding that the committee as part of its plan will engage various identifiable groups within the communities to ensure that people are well educated on the corruption plague.

The forum was attended by the police and representatives of various driver unions as well as some members of the general public.

There was also an open forum which provided the opportunity for questions and answers from both ends.

The maiden edition of the event formed part of activities under YKACC’s integrity, anti-corruption, transparency, participation and accountability which is part of STAR-Ghana and Socioserve’s anti-corruption campaigns being piloted and coordinated in five districts including Yilo Krobo.

Sponsored by STAR-Ghana and Socioserve, the forum is aimed at contributing to the fight against corruption by increasing the integrity, transparency and accountability of public institutions and businesses, while empowering civil society to advocate for change in policy and practice, including better enforcement of anticorruption legislations, policies and practices.

The CHRAJ director said the YKACC will continue to promote awareness on the negative effects of corruption as well as advocate for behavioural change and corruption reporting, among the citizens. He added that, in its efforts, it recognized that the involvement of the public in combating the canker could significantly contribute towards building integrity and promoting the need for accountability.

“We have put a plan in place throughout the year to have an engagement with identifiable groups within the community to ensure that people have enough knowledge on the issues of corruption and how they can report such issues,” said the CHRAJ Director.

His conviction stems from a growing understanding that involving, informing and educating the public about the benefits of integrity, transparency and good governance will inculcate in them such good moral ethics, which can make a significant difference in helping kick out the canker, while ensuring transparency and accountability in the society.

The forum also acknowledged the strategic role that drivers and police play in the fight against the corruption canker while admitting that it is unacceptable to allow the two groups to continue to reinforce the status quo while they prepared themselves for and the fact that it had become necessary to instil in them integrity and good practices, which will remain a part and parcel of them.

Commander of the Somanya Police Command and a member of the committee in his presentation condemned the actions of drivers who offered monetary inducements to police officers to buy their way out of the law. “It is unprofessional for a driver to give money to an officer who is conducting checks on a vehicle or when an offence is committed by the said driver,” he said.

While cautioning drivers against driving without valid drivers’ documents, the Police Commander said it was an offence to drive a vehicle without carrying along with a valid drivers’ license or leaving broken down vehicles on the roads unattended to or reporting to the police for the needed action to be taken. Conveying goods or large numbers of people with vehicles bearing DV or DP number plates for the funeral, wedding, church activities or similar purposes, according to the ASP, also remains illegal and urged the general public to volunteer information on the crime to assist the police to effectively discharge its responsibilities.

ASP Otsin in an interview after the program said the fight against corruption was in line with the commitment of the IGP towards eradicating the canker in Ghana.

The police commander who described instances of corruption between drivers and police as unacceptable reiterated the IGP’s commitment towards eradicating the menace in all of its forms, particularly driver, police corruption which is considered one of the most pervasive in the country.

Various institutions and stakeholders as part of the efforts to address the issue of corruption and nib the scourge in the bud have regularly engaged in various civil society groups.