The Head of Policy and Programmes at the Integrated Social Development Centre ( ISODEC), Mr. Bernard Anaba has called for a concerted effort to tackle the root causes of corruption and Illicit Financial Flows in Ghana and the Africa continent in general.
Mr. Anaba cautioned that efforts being made by Civil Society, government and other stakeholders to curb the menace will yield no results if the root of the problem is not completely uprooted.
He noted that the fight against systemic financial mismanagement, corruption and Illicit Financial Flows is undoubtedly difficult, but persistent moral leadership and collective action can create meaningful change and impact that is desired.
Mr Anaba made the call during a panel discussion at a forum in Accra on Tuesday, December 3, 2024. The Forum was organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa(MFWA) under the theme ‘Curbing Illicit Financial Flows through accountable Governance- the Role of the Media’
He bemoaned that the rich and powerful are the facilitators and primary beneficiaries of this quagmire, thus, it becomes difficult to ensure fairness or transparency.
He told the forum that “the key facilitators of these llicit Financial Flows are the owners of capital and shareholders. These are the rich people amongst us. These are the people who live here in our society, who we put them on the front benches. I’m not saying all of them are engaged in illicit financial flows, in one way or the other. But usually they have so much that they want to protect, or they want to add onto.
“And these people, we have all tended to give them a certain legal privilege that we sitting here do not have. Legal privilege in the sense that they have the ability to go and hide their wealth wherever, in the Cayman Islands, in Mauritius, even in the U.S. You and I cannot do that. They have access to all the VIP pass. So they are able to go to the VIPs without anybody asking a question.
Mr Anaba also raised concerns about the systemic normalization of financial scandals, citizen apathy, and the urgent need for moral accountability.
He pointed out that the normalization of these issues, particularly within the institutions meant to check and balance power, creates a deep systemic challenge, adding that when institutions designed to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability are complicit or compromised, it undermines their purpose and the trust of the people they serve.
The keynote speaker at the forum, Mr Daniel Yaw Domelovo, former Auditor-General emphasized the need to tackle illicit financial flows, as they will otherwise continue to weaken the Ghanaian currency, the Cedi.
By: Mohammed Suleman/Publicagenda.news
