Ghana can be independent of donor assistance – Prof. Adei

A former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administrator (GIMPA), Professor Stephen Adei, has said Ghana has all it takes to be totally independent of donor assistance provided Ghanaians get their act together.

That, he said, could be done by ensuring a high level of integrity, accountability and transparency.

“I am not saying that we do not need foreign inflows but they (inflows) would come as direct foreign investment and portfolio investment,” he said.

Prof. Adei said this when he presented a paper on the topic: “Accountability and integrity as agents for transforming the economy” at the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana’s 50th anniversary presidential luncheon at the State House in Accra yesterday.

According to him, corruption, or the lack of accountability, integrity and transparency, constituted the greatest hindrance to the economic growth of Ghana and her stability.

Prof. Adei noted that the state lost between 25 and 50 per cent of its potential revenue sources through corruption.

The amount, he said, could replace all donor assistance to Ghana which had averaged about $1.6 billion per annum. Such an inflow, he said, could be obtained through managing corruption at the Tema, Kotoka and Takoradi ports alone.

The former GIMPA boss indicated that the lack of accountability, integrity and transparency was the reason why roads were built at a slow pace and other projects could not be executed on time.

Prof. Adei, one-time UNDP Resident Representative in Namibia, said accountability and integrity were crucial for genuine democracy to thrive because they ensured meritocracy, rather than acrimony and nepotism.

He indicated that it was estimated that globally, $1 trillion was lost to countries through corruption, adding that “in Ghana one estimate in 2007 put it at $ 3 billion; 25 to 50 per cent of our potential GDP depending upon whether you are using NDC or NPP GDP estimates”.

“Over 90 per cent of Ghanaians do think that corruption is not only rampant in the economy but increasing,” he said, and added that the most disturbing was that corruption was happening mostly in the critical institutions for national development.

Prof. Adei warned that the country would not make any headway unless its leadership showed good example of integrity, hard work and accountability beyond the formal demands of the Constitution such as the declaration of assets.

The President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana, Mrs Angela Peasah, said given the institute’s monopoly as the sole regulator of the accountancy profession, it ought to make an impact by helping streamline accountancy practice in the public sector.

“The institute can be seen as being relevant when it is the port of call on national issues related to the profession. This may require that we crack the whip on defaulting members, as well as weed out the charlatans who are significantly tainting the image of the profession,” she said.

The acting Controller and Accountant General, Madam Grace Francisca Adzroe, said Ghana’s status as a middle income country called for prudent financial management.

Source: Daily Graphic