Professor Stephen Adei, the former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), continues to assert that corruption is significantly detrimental to the nation.
Pointing to reports from Transparency International (TI) and Afro-Barometer, he emphasizes that these findings serve as evidence that corruption is undermining Ghana.
“And it is not a phenomenon limited to the Akufo-Addo regime, nor the Ministry of Roads which the Honourable Amoako Atta himself said is full of ‘thieves.’ The recent disturbing new dimension about corruption in Ghana is that, now, in 67% of the cases, according to the 2022 United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime report on corruption in Ghana, the public officials in Ghana demand the bribe bold-facedly upfront.
“That is all I illustrated with the case of the Ministry of Roads because someone that week had cried to me that such a demand was made to him,” Prof Adei said in a statement while reacting to alleged misdeeds against him.
Prof Adei had alleged in an interview with TV3 that he had information to the effect that persons seeking road contracts were told: “Road contracts will be given to you, provided you pay 1 million upfront….”
He said “One of the greatest disappointments of Nana Akufo-Addo‘s regime is that honestly, he raised the hope of Ghanaians. Ghanaians expected they have gotten a leader with a vision, with the charisma, with the determination and it seems if he doesn’t redeem himself in the next 14 months, he would go down in history as one of the most disappointing leaders,” he said.
He added “This road contract would be given to you, provided you put one million upfront, not after you have gotten the money. This is what Akufo-Addo must be thinking about and if he knows about it, he must be ashamed.
“That now his people demand from you a certain amount before you would be considered for a job. Why? Because when they get it, whether the government pays you or not they have gotten their money. It is as if people are in a hurry to loot the country before the end of Akufo-Addo’s term.”
In response to this allegation, on Monday, October 23, 2023, Kwasi Amoako-Attah, the Minister of Roads and Highways, asked the Executive Director of the EOCO to conduct a thorough investigation.
The Roads Ministry says that these claims are unexpected to say the least because the procedures followed in awarding road contracts are legal, competitive, open, and transparent.
“Given that the alleged conduct borders on the commission of crime against the Republic, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Hon. Kwasi Amoako-Attah, has today, 23rd October 2023, requested the Executive Director of the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) to fully investigate the allegations.
“The Ministry wishes to assure the public that it shall cooperate fully and support EOCO in the conduct of its investigation,” a statement issued by the Ministry on Monday, October 23 said.
“First, I have never joined any political party in my life. Thus, I am not a member of the New Patriotic Party or the National Democratic Congress or any other party. Neither have I ever lobbied for any position within any administration. In the same vein, neither have I refused to serve my country when called upon and I think I have the requisite capacity to do so.”
