UK says Ghana making headway in anti-graft - report
Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:58 GMT
Ghanaian President John Atta Mills at a ceremony marking the first flow of oil from the Jubilee offshore oil field in Ghana 15/12/2010 REUTERS/Reuters Staff
By Luke Balleny
LONDON (TrustLaw) – Ghana has shown improvements in its fight against corruption, but now needs to put in place thorough investigation systems and real commitment to prosecute if it is to keep beating graft, a Ghanaian news report has quoted Britain’s development agency as saying.
Speaking after a tour of the country, Stephen O’Brien, parliamentary under secretary of state in Britain’s Department for International Development (DFID), told Ghana’s Daily Graphic the country’s government was making good progress in its fight against corruption.
“For corruption, I see that there has to be zero tolerance for it,” O’Brien told the paper. “The interactions I have had with government and corporate representatives give clear indications that there is a new basis for business here in Ghana.”
O’Brien also said it was important that Ghana’s tax authority was healthy, allowing the government to take full advantage of the economy’s recent impressive growth, and that the proceeds of that growth should be spread equitably.
“Equally, we have to look at the social equity, the health and educational programmes, so that the vast number of young people in the country will have good jobs or the prospect of employment or self employment,” O’Brien said.
Britain gave 89.9 million pounds in bilateral aid to Ghana in 2009/2010, according to DFID’s website.
The agency states that one of its top priorities for Ghana is “ensuring that the government of Ghana’s resources are well managed for the benefit of all citizens.”
In Transparency International’s 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, Ghana scored 4.1 on a scale from zero (highly corrupt) to 10 (highly clean). This was the sixth highest score in Africa.
(Editing by Rebekah Curtis)
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