Demanding accountability, transparency and stewardship of duty bearers was prudent for the development of the community, but the lukewarm attitude of the public in fighting corruption made it easy for the corrupt minded people to cheat the nation.

Mr Daniel Baya Laar, the Bawku Director of NCCE, made the call on Wednesday, at a community durbar organised at Sabon-Zongo in the Bawku Municipality, to sensitize the people on the need to engage the duty bearer on public accountability.

He said holding duty bearers accountable would promote good governance and reduce corruption.

Duty bearers such as the Members of Parliament, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCE's) and Assembly Members among others owed it a duty to the community to be accountable and it was right to remind them of it, he said. 

Mr Laar said the community durbar formed part of the Accountability, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme (ARAP), which aims at fighting corruption and promoting transparency, accountability and good environmental governance.

He commended the European Union (EU) for its continuous support to the NCCE.

Hajia Hawa Nincheamah, the Bawku Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), asked the community to hold her office and other duty bearers responsible for the development of the area, because her office was responsible for channeling the needed resources from central government for the development of the area.

Mr Haruna Alhassan, the Bawku Municipal investigator at the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justices (CHRAJ), urged residents to volunteer information of corrupt practices of public officials to the appropriate authority including CHRAJ, Special Prosecutor's Office (SPO) and the Economic and Organized Crime Office among others.

Mr Haruna explained that the Whistleblower's Act, Act 720 protected the blower against any form of vindictiveness and urged the people not to feel reluctant in relaying any information that would lead to saving the national purse.

The Zongo Chief, Alhaji Osman, after watching a drama performed by community members and staff of the NCCE on corrupt practices, suggested a war against corruption in the society, since it needed a concerted effort from everyone, saying "government alone cannot fight corruption because of its complexity in nature".

Meanwhile, residents raised concerns on lack of public toilets and inadequate dustbins for domestic waste and appealed to the Assembly to address the problem.