President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has declared that fighting corruption has been the main focus of his government, despite criticisms from a section of the public that his administration has done little in the fight against corruption.
He contends that corruption flourishes in covert circumstances and that combating corruption requires access to information.
The President said that to address this, during its first term, his government ensured the passage of the Right to Information Act (RTI) 2019, ACT 989.
To advance accountability and transparency, President Akufo-Addo stated that the Act seeks to actualize Article 21, clause 1(f) of the constitution.
Speaking at the commissioning of ‘The Law House’ project on June 10, he said, “The Act, which successive governments failed to pass, sees to the implementation of the constitutional right to information held by public institutions to foster a culture of transparency and accountability in public affairs, subject to exemptions necessary and consistent with the protection of the public interest in a democratic society. The Act is now fully implemented, with the governing board chaired by an experienced and respected retired high court judge.”
The president said the Ministry of Information has trained information officers across various government ministries, departments, and agencies to ensure the full implementation of the Right to Information law.
He said in 2018, Parliament passed the Witness Protection Act, Act 975, which he signed into law on August 24th of the same year.
“The Act establishes a witness protection agency to create a witness protection scheme as a vehicle for offering protection to persons who are required to cooperate with law enforcement agencies as witnesses in the investigation and prosecution of cases, particularly corruption cases affecting public officers,” he noted.
President Akufo-Addo also rejected ex-President Mahama’s characterization of him as a clearing agent because he always clears his appointees accused of engaging in corruption.
He claimed that all he has done is ensure that cases are thoroughly investigated to prevent injustices from occurring, as someone who upholds the legal system.
