GII launches report on corruption risk in forestry sector
The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) on Thursday launched a report on corruption risk and governance assessment research under a crafted policy dubbed: “Reducing emissions from deforestations and forest degradation (REDD+).
The report which was studied in three districts and Greater Accra, Ashanti and Northern Regions seeks to bring to bare some of the key indicators that influence corruption in the forestry sector.
REDD+ is a policy championed and spearheaded by GII to help bring to halt land-use related emissions from developing countries.
Dr Winston Asante, Lecturer, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology who presented the report at a stakeholders meeting in Accra, said political economy is the major source of corrupt practices in the forestry sector.
He said the issue is pivoted around the influence of politicians in decision making, and law enforcement.
He said the report revealed that some politicians interfere in the arrest and prosecution of offenders of forest laws and even bribe forest patrol teams during patrol operations, which impedes government efforts and interventions to reduce corruption in our forestry sector.
The report also revealed that there are series of corrupt practices in forestry activities monitoring which normally occur in the award of contracts, procurement of materials and supplies and payment of wages of plantation workers.
Mrs Linda Ofori-Kwafo, the Executive Director of GII in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said law enforcement appointees should be sanctioned if they flout relevant rules and regulations governing the forestry sector and by so doing it will deter others from violating forestry laws.
She said actors like politicians and stakeholders should work towards embracing corrupt- free forestry activities in Ghana.
The report recommended that efforts should be made to strengthen the institutional mechanism of the forestry sector in a way that will ensure that the systems work, and the structures are able to provide resilience to undue political interference in technical issues in the sector.
It also recommends that law enforcement need to be strengthened, but in doing so, appropriate sanctions should be meted out to law enforcement agents who are found to have committed corrupt practices to serves as a deterrent to others.
It states that REDD+ processes should continue to engage with the Forest Law Enforcement Government Trade processes, in order to benefit from the generally improved governance regime that would result whereas advocacy measures on REDD+ corruption risks should be synergised with the activities of Forest Watch Ghana.
The meeting brought together Stakeholders from Institutions like the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Forestry Commission Ghana REDD+ Secretariat, Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Source: GNA