A platform known as a Multi-Stakeholder Business Integrity Forum to deliberate on how to overcome hindrances of the private sector in doing business in Ghana has been launched in Accra.
A brainchild of the Ghana Integrity Initiative, GII, the local Chapter of Transparency International, the platform will serve as a Community of Practice for businesses to share their ideas and learn from other companies’ anti-bribery policies that promote transparent and accountable business practices.
It will also advocate the enforcement of international and national conventions and laws to enhance an honest business operating environment in Ghana.
Executive Director of GII, Linda Ofori Kwafo said the Ghana Integrity Initiative seeks to fight corruption and promote good governance in the daily lives of people and institutions by forging ”strong, trusting and effective partnership with government, business and civil society, hence the basis for these forums”.
She said ”in recognition of the critical role of the private sector, it is crucial for every economy to work towards promoting and enhancing an environment where the private sector actors can operate at an optimum level without unnecessary restrictions”.
Anti-Corruption Campaigner and Ghana’s Auditor General, Daniel Domelevo spoke at the maiden edition of the GII Multi-Stakeholder Business Integrity Forum.
Auditor General’s topic was ‘’Promoting Good Business Environment through Ethics, Integrity and Accountability”. Mr. Domelevo said it is time to hold Accountants responsible for their role in nurturing corruption by what he called ”cooking the books”.
He said as professionals, Accountants are expected to know better in dealing with fiscal issues and must educate the public on avoiding corruption, but that is not always the case.
The Auditor General suggested ways to fight corruption, saying there is the need to decentralize prosecution by privatizing the process.
He said commercializing prosecution by bringing more competing hands will add steam to expedite the fight against corruption.
Discussants at the forum who shared their views on what can be done by Corporate Ghana to eliminate or minimize corruption were anonymous that the penalty meted out for corruption should be deterrent to the core, so as to make dealings in systematic corruption distasteful to culprits.
Also, collaboration should be encouraged among anti-corruption advocates to tie all the apron strings of partners to ensure that the expected change is attitude to corruption is achieved.
Story by Rebecca Ekpe
