The Ningo-Prampram District Director of the NCCE, Madam Gifty Agyeiwaa Badu, who encouraged Christians to be incorruptible, said their good examples could trickle down to other citizens at their work places, schools, homes and other places.

Madam Badu was speaking on Sunday at the Mount Sinai Methodist Church at New-Dawhenya as part of her office’s sensitisation engagements of the citizenry under its Accountability, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme (ARAP).

The programme, which is a joint initiative between the Government of Ghana (GOG) and the European Union (EU), integrates the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan (NACAP)  is aimed at promoting good governance in Ghana by reducing corruption and improving accountability and compliance with the rule of law.
 
Attaining corruption free nation

Educating the congregation on the ARAP’s theme: “Citizen for Transparency and Accountability,” she said every Ghanaian’s little contribution was needed to attain a corruption-free nation.

Madam Badu mentioned that acts such as tipping a health worker to be attended to before others, forcing to get admission for children who did not get the pass mark, employing people based on relations and friendship and acquiring driver’s license illegally, were some of the corrupt practices citizens engaged in.

She further stated that embezzlement of state funds meant for the development of education, good roads, among other social amenities, contributed significantly to the poor educational system, health delivery, bad roads causing accidents and subsequent loss of lives among others.

Open forum

Members of the church in an open forum asked the NCCE to collaborate with other state agencies, especially the Ghana Education Service to include civic education, especially on issues of corruption and integrity into the school curriculum.

This, they said would help to inculcate into students good habits before they grow up to hold leadership positions in the society.

Some also pointed out that corruption had its root causes in Ghanaian homes and the society as relatives and friends put undue pressure on people to provide things they could not afford or offer favours to them even if it went against the country’s laws.

They reiterated the need for politicians to stop infiltrating institutions, especially the Ghana Police Service and other state security agencies with their political party members as that turned to weaken the institution and increase corrupt activities.

Doing right things

The church members also agreed that parents must lead exemplary incorruptible lives by insisting on doing the right things in society
Reverend Joseph K. Yeboah, Circuit Minister, Mt. Sinai Methodist, preaching on the topic, “Listen to the Lord and live”, charged Christians to listen and obey the true teachings of Christ.

Rev. Yeboah added that it would be useless if Christians engaged in immoral and unacceptable activities while they were in the lent period saying “you are then on hunger strike rather than fasting”