PPP Anti�Corruption Demonstration Set For September 10, 2013

The Progressive people�s Party (PPP) has confirmed that its planned anti-corruption demonstration in Accra will take place on September 10, 2013. The confirmation was made at a press conference addressed by National Chairman of the party Nii Allotey Brew-Hammond, at the party�s headquarters in Accra today. The Chairman said the party had listened to the concerns raised by well-meaning Ghanaians about the timing of the action and had accordingly put it on hold until after the Supreme Court ruling. �We have therefore written to the Police Service to announce a new date of 10th September, 2013 to provide an opportunity for the Police Service to marshal all the personnel needed to protect citizens engaged in a legitimate constitutional exercise� he said. In the 2012 elections, the PPP campaigned on incorruptible leadership and reforms of the country�s governance infrastructure through constitutional amendments, as the most realistic way of fighting and defeating corruption which had become institutionalized and endemic, vowing to lead a national crusade to defeat the canker which denies the nation over 3billion cedis of development funds every year. The PPP cited startling revelations from the Auditor General�s December 2011 Report which highlights Cash irregularities amounting to GH�33,972,751.25 from misappropriation, failure to recover funds from dishonoured cheques, unauthorized expenditure, and the non-availability of records on revenue collected; which ironically was more pronounced in the AG & Justice Ministry, which topped the chart with an amount of GH�16,375,045.05 The party described the constitution of the P. V. Obeng Committee to review �the GYEEDA report and advice the president� as nothing but a cover-up engineered by the presidency. The PPP Chairman charged that �judgment debts and negotiated settlements have become a fiendish art and a path to riches for those with the right contacts in government�. The party warned that it will not rest until the four-fold reforms it has promised Ghanaians become a reality. The reforms include: i.Turning the Office of Attorney-General into an Independent Prosecutor�s Office separate from the Ministry of Justice so that that Office is removed from the negative influence of partisan politics to deal with all forms of corruption or corruptive practices. ii.Separating the Legislature (Parliament) from the Executive (Presidency) so that effective checks and balance can occur. iii.Removing the �hand� of the Executive (Presidency) from the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies and take away the opportunity for partisan patronage from the center, and iv.Establishing a Ministry of Public Service to continuously seek improvement in the way work is done and take steps to strengthen public institutions.