Presidency is dump site for suspected corrupt public officials – Professor Kwesi Yankah

Speaking at a Corruption conference organized by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Prof. Kwesi Yankah said “transfer or promotion of bad nuts to the presidency rather than their demotion or indictment tends to defile the dignity of the presidency”.

“When government appointees are cited for embezzlement or corruption, no machine is set in motion for investigation, prosecution and indictment” the professor cried out; adding that the former Sports Minister believed to have performed abysmally during the 2014 World Cup but now finds himself among the presidential staff at the Flagstaff House.

According to the IEA finding, the presidency was ranked the second most corrupt institution in Ghana; indicating that though the perception of corruption is widely held to be a tradition in the public service the professor said the IEA survey shows a case of the “fish getting rotten from the head” and something must be done about it.

To him, President Mahama must be held responsible for corruption since he “wields so much constitutional power and is responsible for key appointees” in the country.

He emphasized that the president has “squandered opportunities to prosecute presidential appointees suspected of embezzling public funds but who have been merely transferred to other portfolios as if with the aim of enabling a quicker spread of the virus.

In a remorseless assessment, the Central University College president added that, often, reports of commissions, probes and investigations have been neglected, entrenching the view that the presidency is “merely a depository for reports” because of the inaction of the president.

The professor however outlined some reasons which are informing the perception the President implicitly encourages corruption; describing the menace as the lack of government’s courage to bring to book key players complicit in the corrupt scandals.