The European Union Ambassador Her Excellency Diana Acconcia says she has no doubts that the resignation of the Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu and the heated debate on corruption in the country, may determine who emerges winner after the December 7 polls.

According to her, if current events in Ghana are critically looked at in these few days to the general elections, especially “following the Special Prosecutor resignation, and the debate on corruption is raging on the media, and [it] may be a factor in the decision of who will be the winner.”

She went on to say even though it is not for her to comment on the substance of the recent events, “but they show how difficult it is to eradicate corruption, in spite of the general awareness of the huge harm it causes to the public purse, the public ethics and the economic and social development of a country.”

H.E Acconica was, however, convinced that in the long term the fight against corruption can only be won with strong independent institutions and political will, which is key but without strong institutions to enforce the law, as even the most motivated leaders have blunted weapons. 

The EU Ambassador said the Union through its Accountability, Rule of law and Anti-Corruption Programme (ARAP) was drawing the curtains on a five years programme that supported institutions such as Ghana Police Service, Judicial Service, Commission on Human Right and Administration Justice (CHRAJ) and National Commission and Civic Education (NCCE).

Other institutions that were involved included are Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Legal Aid Commission (LAC), Environment Protection Agency (EPA), Star Ghana Foundation and Office of the Attorney General (OAG).  

“And there is more, Ghanaians are rightly proud of their strong democracy and free and fair elections, and I know that they will enthusiastically cast their vote in six days’ time. But democracy is much more than voting every four years.

“It’s an active and well informed citizenship represented by vocal and well-organised non-state actors. It is protecting the freedom of the media and the accountability institutions like all of you who are here today. I feel that with ARAP, we have contributed to a stronger, more participative democracy in Ghana and I am very proud of it,” she averred. 

The EU Ambassador speaking at the ARAP closure on Tuesday, December 1, 2020 in Accra, indicated that world has over the half past decade, had evolved and where values and principles were considered universal and perennial are now being threatened.

Hitherto, the EU remains steadfast on same values and principles, which are anchored on democracy, human rights, accountability, fight against corruption and climate change.

Within the five years, ARAP supported these key institutions mentioned, to effect changes in their operations to become more efficient in serving the public.

“Anti-corruption programmes have proven to work better when focusing on a specific issue. ARAP therefore worked with the Environmental Protection Agency to support its capacity to fight illegal practices harmful to the environment,” she stressed.

According to her, the support was focused on improving and digitizing EPA’s monitoring compliance system, to strengthen its complaints management system, as well as enforcement (prosecution). 

She pointed out that the focus of the support with regard to the EPA was based on the issue of illegal mining, which is both a governance and a major environmental

By Akutu Dede Adimer