I first became familiar with the phrase ‘zero tolerance’ when a prominent north eastern city in the USA used it in its campaign against graffiti. This campaign was without a fanfare, bells and whistles. It went on like this, whenever graffiti was painted on any school building, the graffiti was cleaned as soon as practicable. With lapse of time, the graffiti artists gave up. Little did the graffiti artists realize that they were engaged in a war against a determined opponent with unlimited resources.
When candidate Kufour adopted the slogan and incorporated it into his campaign apparatus, some of us thought he would display such relentlessness. Little did we know then that it was just a vote-catching slogan. By way of digression Ghana is unbeatable when it comes to slogans and shibboleths. It is palpable; the President, by each passing day, has lost the moral obligation to wage this campaign. Unlike the nameless city hall, President Kufour seems not to have the staying power.
Candidate Kufour believed every story published or rumored on corrupt act against his predecessors as the gospel truth. Now President Kufour questions the same sources when they hint that corruption, contrary to being minimized, is on the ascendancy under his watch. Personally, I believe the President’s approach would not yield the desired result. His approach is reactionary. He is patiently waiting, may be with one eye firmly closed for a corrupt act to take place to display his ‘zero intolerance’ fervor against it. A better approach would be to install systems or controls to prevent a corrupt act in the first instance. There is a link between lack of viable institutions and the high incidence and scope of corruption. Prevention is better than cure. Stitch in time, the learned say saves nine. This simple fact has escaped the President and his advisers. This lack of appreciation of proactive approach to issues is also evident in other areas of our nation building efforts.
We ignore the less expensive first (but effective and efficient) lines of defense (mosquito) against the spread of malaria. We would rather prefer to build hospitals and purchase expensive drugs and import mosquito coils to combat malaria. We need to establish or install systems that would make it risky or less attractive to commit corruptible act in the first place. Because of this failure, we are always talking and starting afresh about fighting corruption without any appreciable dent being made in our campaigns
Contrary to the generally held belief, our country was not plunged into the vortex of corruption after independence was won. It was earlier. Immediately self government (pre independence government) was granted, the first ‘scent of corruption’ was detected. As early as 1953, J. A. Braimah, the then Minister of Works and Communication had accepted 2,000 pounds sterling ‘gift’ from a foreign business man who had won a contractor with his Ministry. Approximately three years later yet another ‘despicable scent of corruption’ were detected. The Kwame Nkrumah Administration was setting up a commission of enquiry to probe the activities of Cocoa Purchasing Company (C.P.C) established ostensibly to fund independent cocoa purchasing. The Commission’s revealed ‘the absence of sufficiently effective control’ lends the operations of CPC to corrupt practices. With independence the flood gates of corruption were opened ajar.
It was in reaction to this perceived prevalent corruption that Nkrumah made his famous ‘Dawn Broadcast Speech’. Some prominent and veterans of the independence struggle like Kobla Agbeli Gbedemah lost their ‘fertile’ ministries. Though nobody was indicted, Nkrumah indicated that the masses were watching and they lacked the guts to substantiate those ‘akee, akee’ or ‘wor see, wor see’ stories pervading the length and breadth of the country. Why did Nkrumah, “the commander of the ship at sea with the helm in his grasp, fail to steer a course to seek a port?"
Harley, a key player in the coup that overthrew Nkrumah revealed that in his strategic capacity as one time head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) all corrupt practices that he investigated led to the Castle. The objectiveness of Harley could arguably be questioned, for admittedly he had political axe to grind. But the story of one maverick person of the one-party parliament, S. I. Iddrissu, a member representing Gushiegu Constituency gave credence to Harley’s statement. One Jewish investor named Drevici entered the country with the stated intentions, to invest. He was later deported. Rumors started whirling around that his activities and subsequent deportation were shrouded in corrupt practices. Either by accident or design S. I. Iddrissu was selected to be the sacrificial bird of passage. He could not be silenced. He started saying that with Drevici funds, ‘Fanti man got big and the Dagomba man got small’.
Trying to use parliamentary forum to spill the beans l! ed to his expulsion. When the coup occurred, S. I. Iddrissu thus was the only parliamentarian that was not placed in protective custody. Before the coup, S.I. was the only high ranking politician who could visit famous night clubs like Lido and Metropole without escort. The various commissions established immediately proved how the cancer of corruption had eaten to the very foundation of our nation.
The tide has not ebbed. Contrary to what the successive military and pseudo military governments would have us believe Ghana has been gripped by corruption. The only solution is the building of institutions and tightening of controls. Most human beings when presented with lax controls and porous conditions would be tempted. Some Ghanaians living outside were shocked to read that Jake Obetsebi Lamptey handled some of the funds for the repair work at the Castle before the present NPP Administration took office. Though there is no tangible evidence yet of impropriety, the lack of proper institutions gave the appearance of corruption to the whole episode. In a country like USA not even the Secretary of Treasury would handle funds for the renovation work at the White House. Proper institutions and controls would spare Ghanaians with this appearance of corruption. Such is how proactive methods are made.
Recently I visited the Department of Building (DOB) of a big USA city. At the lobby placed conspicuously was a notice board. The board announced that employees there were paid by taxes collected from citizens. It noted also unambiguously that employees are adequately paid and they are there to render absolute free service to the citizens. Citizens could show their appreciation by saying ‘thank you’. The notice ended that it is a criminal act to offer meals, candies, money, ticket and other gratuities to employees for any service rendered. In my humble opinion, I believe such a notice would serve to deter any citizen who would have liked to make any offer to an employee for a job well done. President Kufour could think of having such notices displayed at points of service to citizens. Such points could be passport office, customs office, lands department etc.
The campaign to combat endemic corruption in our society could be won more by prevention than by intolerance. Perpetrators of corruptible acts are smart. They may not leave the paper trails but proper institutions could hinder their progress.
Since everything we do we do out of some interest, our political leaders should be clear about what their interests are. Are they interested in fighting corruption in Ghana or just spewing vote catching slogan

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