The NDC’s Central Regional Communication Officer Ms. Gabriella Tetteh has praised the commitment of President John Dramani Mahama and his Vice, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, in the fight against corruption.
She emphasized that President Mahama has demonstrate beyond reasonable doubts that his is leading the charge in the fight against corruption.
“His Excellency set the stage by declaring his assets. He’s given an ultimatum to all appointees. That everybody must declare their assets by March. Failure to do so means that you are automatically sack. Anybody who fails to do so, does it at his or her own detriment.”
Ms. Gabriella Tetteh NDC Central Regional Communication Officer
Ms. Tetteh lamented that Ghana loses approximately $9 to $10 billion annually to corruption. She accused the Akufo-Addo administration of being plagued with scandals and financial mismanagement over the past eight years.
“Over the last eight years, we’ve observed, we’ve witnessed various degrees of pilfering, of pen robbing, decadence, of obscene corruption in this country.”
Ms. Gabriella Tetteh NDC Central Regional Communication Officer
Ms. Tetteh listed several corruption cases under the past government, highlighting the egregious misuse of public funds. She mentioned the SML scandal, the National Cathedral debacle, and the controversial SkyTrain project.
Regarding the SkyTrain project, she shared a personal encounter with a promoter who was attempting to justify the viability of the project despite its impracticality.
“I was like, common rail line. From Tema to Accra. We can’t get you to work. The cathedral, we can’t get you to work. It is a sky train that we are coming to put up in Accra here?”
Ms. Gabriella Tetteh NDC Central Regional Communication Officer
She emphasized the wasteful expenditure of public funds on feasibility studies that yielded no results.
“When these people came up with the idea for a SkyTrain, did they not do their own pre-feasibility before they chose to come and sell the idea to us? Why does somebody just create a fanciful idea and then taxpayers’ money is just rolled out?”
Ms. Gabriella Tetteh NDC Central Regional Communication Officer
The Role of Democracy in Ensuring Accountability
Ms. Tetteh stressed that vital role democracy plays in the fight against corruption and the opportunity it creates for accountability.
“The beauty about democracy is that so long as there’s a change in government, there’s always going to be some element of accountability. Ghanaians went out to vote massively for the NDC because they were sick and tired of the obscene opulence and grand theft that was being plagued on this country.”
“Last two weeks, we had reports from the Fourth Estate about events in the National Service Secretariat, where over 80,000 ghost names were included in a register over a period of eight years.”
Ms. Gabriella Tetteh NDC Central Regional Communication Officer
She noted the arrest of the deputy director and called for accountability from all those involved, urging suspects to turn themselves in.
Ms. Tetteh further expressed satisfaction with the proactive role of Ghana’s security agencies, particularly the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), in addressing corruption.
“I like the vigor and the vigorousness of our security agencies. Especially the NIB. This is their mandate.”
Ms. Gabriella Tetteh NDC Central Regional Communication Officer
She emphasized the importance of accountability for those in positions of power, citing recent summons by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
“Ken Ofori-Atta is now wanted by the Office of Special Prosecutor. Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi [wanted by] NIB, the deputy director [of NSS], Gifty Mensah is wanted. We can no longer play ostrich, as His Excellency said, with the fight against corruption. Because the people are watching.”
Ms. Gabriella Tetteh NDC Central Regional Communication Officer
She cited the need for Ghana to curb corruption instead of seeking external financial assistance, arguing that domestic resources, if well-managed, could address the country’s economic challenges.
“We’ll still shamelessly go cup in hand to the IMF for $3 billion when we are losing $9 billion per year. And we will always be the laughing stock of the rest of the world.”
Ms. Gabriella Tetteh NDC Central Regional Communication Officer
In conclusion, Ms. Gabriella Tetteh commended the current momentum in the fight against corruption and urged all NDC appointees to uphold transparency and accountability.
Her remarks reflect the NDC’s commitment to tackling corruption as a core governance priority under the leadership of John Mahama.
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