Former Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo, has linked the increase in corruption and corruption-related offenses in the country to inadequate punitive measures and weaknesses in the system to apprehend perpetrators.
He emphasized that without effective control mechanisms to monitor citizens’ activities, individuals are more likely to exploit the situation.
Speaking on Hot Issues on Sunday, March 17, Domelevo highlighted that the absence of consequences for financial malpractice can encourage others to engage in similar behavior.
“Wherever people find opportunities, they would like to misbehave or abuse the opportunity if the controls are not working. And if there are no consequences for financial malpractices, if people think they can get away with it, it will continue,” the former Auditor-General is quoted by 3news.com to have said.
He added that “the system has not been set up clearly to ensure that it doesn’t matter who you are if you go contrary to the rules, sanctions will be administered on you. That is why I think that the level of impunity is growing all the time.”
He emphasized that without deterrence for misbehavior, people are more inclined to misbehave.
Furthermore, he stressed that Ghanaians exhibit respect for rules and proper behavior when in other jurisdictions such as the USA and UK because those systems are effective.
“The same Ghanaian who travels to London or the US today, without any orientation, starts behaving rightly because he/she knows that this system would not tolerate me,” he stated.
He continued by stating that the effectiveness of the system starts from the top, which is the President.
“Discipline cannot be enforced from below, it comes from the top,” adding that “the tone from the top actually determines whether the people are going to take it or not.”
He also cited Rwanda, where he said, “The tone is clear that if you misbehave, you will face it so everyone is doing what is right.”
However, the former Auditor-General accused the Akufo-Addo government of selectively applying disciplinary actions in the fight against corruption.
“The promises or the rhetoric are far higher than what we are seeing on the ground and of course disciplinary measures are swiftly put in place against those who do not belong to the group but there are some people for whom we can clearly see that they are committing atrocities or infractions and they continuously get away with it,” he stated.