Charity begins at home; fighting corruption should start at the Presidency – Franklin Cudjoe

• The leader of IMANI Ghana has reiterated that charity begins at home and that fighting corruption should start at the presidency.
• Franklin Cudjoe has criticised the government of the day and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
• Is fighting corruption at the Presidency possible in Ghana?

Franklin Cudjoe, President of IMANI Africa, has said that the presidency in Ghana is the source of many dishonest and corrupt practices and that the battle against corruption in Ghana should begin from there.

Mr. Cudjoe criticised the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) in his speech, calling it a hopeless strategy for fighting corruption.

In an interview with Citi FM on Saturday, May 18, he emphasised that it would be more successful to concentrate efforts at the highest level of government.

Instead of depending on more bureaucratic institutions, Mr. Cudjoe thinks Ghana will tackle corruption head-on by addressing the issue at the Presidency. This would be a more proactive and all-encompassing strategy.

The President of IMANI Africa emphasized a number of incidents of corruption that have taken place inside the Presidency, highlighting the challenge and intricacy of dealing with the problem.

“Charity begins at home, and so fighting corruption should start at the Presidency because that is where all the crooked things are cooked. Look at the Scholarship Secretariat scandal; is it not from there? This Ministry of Special Initiatives, was it not harboured at the Presidency, which led to all these dams that were constructed like dugouts and wasted money all over the place. Just take a cursory look at that office,” he said.

Mr. Cudjoe used these instances to highlight how deeply ingrained corruption is at the top echelons of government, making the battle against it especially difficult.

The IMANI Africa president also emphasised that the necessity for a more concentrated and resolute effort to combat the canker is demonstrated by these high-profile incidents of corruption within the Presidency.

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“So, even creating the Office of the Special Prosecutor was like battling after the facts were established, and people with deep pockets will fight you because they have made enough money to fight you. We at IMANI say that fighting corruption and waste begins at the Presidency.”