Corruption steals from the pockets of the citizenry – NCCE

Mr Muniru Alengah,the Bawku West District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has urged the citizenry to eschew corruption as it retards the growth of the economy.

“Corruption steals from the pocket of the citizenry and misleads state officials to mismanage state property for personal gains, while the poor are forced to pay bribes because they have limited options for meeting their social needs”.

Mr Alengah said this at a campaign programme on Accountability, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption, organised by the NCCE for the Yelewoko community members in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region.

He said the rising corruption in the country did not only make life more difficult for majority of the citizenry, but decreased their incentives to honor their tax obligations.

He urged the community members to be agents of change and fight corruption by holding the duty bearers such as the Traditional Authority, Assembly Members, Members of Parliament (MP’s) and the Municipal and District Chief Executives accountable for their stewardship through legal means.

Mr John Atampure, the Bawku West District Chief Investigative Assistant at the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), urged the community members to use the whistle blowers act and other avenues including; the CHRAJ and Police Service to report corrupt issues for redress.

He charged the community members to report economic crimes such as stealing, smuggling, fraud, bribery and awarding of contracts to friends, relatives through unfair means and tax evasion among others to the appropriate quarters.

Mr Atampure further entreated the community members not to shield cases of abuse of the marginalised in society but report them for redress.

Source: GNA